A man from Somalia saw his conviction increased from two to three years for a domestic violence case after the court of appeal found the initial penalty was “clearly insufficient” given the nature of the crime, it was announced on Friday.

The decision was taken on Thursday following an appeal by the attorney-general against the sentence imposed by the Nicosia criminal court.

The man had pleaded guilty to five charges concerning threat, assault causing actual bodily harm, restriction of liberty, and cruel, inhumane and humiliating treatment of his partner.

The criminal court had convicted the man to two years imprisonment for the cruel, inhumane and humiliating treatment, and no penalties for the remaining charges as they were included in the overall behaviour.

The court heard that the first incident occurred at the couple’s flat in March 2025. They had argued after the woman refused drive him to a place to buy drugs. He then hit her until she lost consciousness.

Once she regained consciousness, the man said he would be reporting her to the police as a minor who was being mistreated. The woman told him to go to the police, but he pulled out a penknife and put it to her throat. He also whipped her with a charger cable.

Woman had attempted to go to police

The woman attempted to report the case to the police, but the man accompanied her and denied assaulting her. During a second attempt to reach the police, the man grabbed hold of the steering wheel from the passenger seat and directed the car elsewhere.

She then hit the brakes and tried to escape the car, however the man hit her in the face. The woman managed to get away, but the man caught her and forced her to drive to the apartment.

Once there, the woman tried to get away, waved down a passing car and asked the driver to take her to the police.

The police accompanied her to the Nicosia general hospital, where doctors recorded bruising and cuts to the face and body.

The attorney general said the initial sentence was inadequate as it had not taken into account the seriousness of the crimes or the need to impose discouraging sentences in cases of domestic violence.

The court of appeal agreed that the circumstances of the case were particularly serious, both regarding the man’s actions and their duration, as well as the fact that they were repeated.