Nicosia man imprisoned for killing neighbor's cat

On October 30, 2026, the Nicosia Court of Appeal ordered an immediate two-month prison sentence for a man who killed his neighbor's cat. The incident occurred on August 5, 2021, when the defendant struck the animal multiple times on the head with a blunt object—specifically identified in some reports as a broomstick—before discarding it in a trash bin where it died.

Initially, the District Court of Nicosia had sentenced the man to two months in prison, but suspended the term for three years. The Court of Appeal, presided over by judges Michalis Ambizas, Stella Christodoulidou-Messiou, and Ifigenia Stylianidou, overturned the suspension. The judges ruled that the lower court had improperly used identical mitigating factors for both sentencing and suspension. They emphasized that the brutality of the crime necessitated a firm judicial response to deter future animal abuse and protect defenseless animals, stating that the original suspension failed to reflect the objective seriousness of the offense.

Prosecutor Elena Konstantinou represented the state, successfully arguing that the lower court’s discretion was exercised incorrectly. The defendant is now being transported to the Central Prison to serve his sentence immediately.