The liberation struggle of EOKA 1955-59 and the Chloraka coast

THE FIRST ARRESTS AND CONVICTIONS The boat had been spotted by the British and police rushed to the "Rodafinia" area. A dinghy sent from the caique made three trips to shore in order to transport the arms and ammunition, which team members placed in a small shed housing a water pump machine, about a hundred metres from the shore. At some distance from the shore police arrested Michalakis Papantoniou and Kyriakos Mavronikolas, whom the team leader had sent to bring fresh supplies for the caique. Moving along the coastline, the police arrested another four team members who had carried to the small shed the first cases of dynamite. They then arrested the remaining fighters as they were unloading. The head of the police team sent flares to a nearby warship. The ship approached and fired warning shots against the "Saint George". The boat tried to make its escape but was forced to surrender. Before doing so, however, the crew managed to throw all remaining arms and ammunition overboard. The five members of the crew and six of the eight Cypriots arrested on the coast were sentenced on 6 May 1955 by the British Assizes in Paphos to various terms of imprisonment ranging from one to twelve years and were transferred to Nicosia Central Prison. A little later, Socrates Loizides was transferred to an English prison.