Following reports of the arrest of our publication’s founder, Boris Demash, dozens of readers contacted us asking what had happened.
On July 8, the English-language Cypriot newspaper Cyprus Mail published a news story about Boris Demash’s arrest. Here is the full text of the article:
“Founder of Cyprus Daily News arrested over defamation case
Boris Demash, the founder, owner, and editor-in-chief of Cyprus Daily News and the associated websites Cyprus-Daily.News and Cynews.cc, has been arrested in Cyprus, it was announced today.
An arrest warrant was issued by the Limassol District Court on June 23, 2025, in connection with an ongoing defamation case involving an alleged disinformation campaign targeting entrepreneur Alexey Gubarev.
The arrest warrant was issued after Demash failed to comply with the terms of a prohibitory injunction and did not appear before the court on the scheduled date to respond to a contempt application.
These developments follow a lengthy investigation into online efforts to damage Gubarev’s reputation through the publication of false and harmful content.
Cyprus Daily News, which describes itself as a social and political online publication, is not officially registered as a media outlet with the Press and Information Office in Cyprus.
Demash is alleged to be the principal figure behind the operation, coordinating the distribution of defamatory material through a shifting network of anonymous websites. According to court documents, these platforms repeatedly changed hosting providers in an apparent attempt to evade legal action and continue publishing despite multiple court orders.
He also reportedly failed to provide evidence to support the published claims and refused to participate in legal proceedings. His repeated absence from court hearings was noted by the judges, who concluded the accusations were baseless and amounted to malicious defamation.
Following the case submission, the court issued an order blocking access to all websites involved in the campaign and ordered the immediate removal of the offending content.
The case remains pending before the Limassol district court”.
We contacted Boris Demash directly for comment. Below are excerpts from our conversation. We will publish a full interview on this topic later, when circumstances permit.
Boris Demash: «First, let me explain the situation. On February 12, the Cyprus Daily News website published an article titled «Gubarev’s importation: Putin’s IT guys take over Cyprus.» My name is not under it. It is not my article. I will publish my article about Alexei Gubarev later, under my own name, as always, when I have gathered enough material for it. In my opinion, the article in question is well written and thorough. Some details could have been explored in greater depth, but the main thing is that it is honest and based on facts.
Some time later, I learned that Alexey Gubarev and his associate Oleg Reshetnikov, who was also mentioned in the article, had filed lawsuits against me, Dmitry Khmelnitsky, Yuri Shulipa, and Leonid Grigoriev, with the standard demands to recognize the article as defamatory, prohibit its publication and distribution, and many other demands.
Since Gubarev has no information about the real owners of the site, he decided to put pressure on me, claiming that I am still the owner and editor-in-chief of CDN, despite the fact that I left the project in October 2021 and publicly announced this. Those whose names he saw on the website under the «authors» section—Khmelnitsky, Shulipa, Grigoriev—were also targeted. At the same time, he is well aware that none of them are editors of CDN and have nothing to do with the publication of the article in question.
Gubarev’s strategy is simple: to intimidate and pressure people who had absolutely nothing to do with the publication in order to force the author and the CDN editorial team to remove the article. In other words, he has taken hostages and is beating them with legal clubs to force the author and the editorial board to comply with his demands. This is a classic, sadistic strategy of the Russians, tried and tested over centuries and used by them always and everywhere. The war in Ukraine is a clear embodiment of this national strategy of the Russians – deliberately striking at the civilian population in order to break the will of the Ukrainians and force them to surrender. The fact that Gubarev has Cypriot and Lithuanian passports does not make him European. He remains Russian and will always act as a Russian.
There is no practical sense in this, since neither Khmelnitsky, Shulipa, nor Grigoriev have anything to do with the publication of the article or the work of the website—this is obvious. But Gubarev is driven by a sadistic desire to use legal mechanisms and legal tricks to harm, take revenge, mess up, and ruin the lives of as many people as possible. And to achieve the removal of the article in such a despicable, vile way. In legal practice, such cases against journalists are called SLAPP cases.
Our reference:
SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) is a lawsuit aimed at intimidating and suppressing criticism or public activity, often filed against journalists, activists, and others who express their opinions on issues of public interest. The purpose of SLAPP suits is not to win the case, but to force the defendant to spend time, money, and energy on legal defense, thereby distracting them from their main activities and putting pressure on them.
B.D. «In early March, as far as I know, without examining the article itself or the facts presented in it, and without familiarizing itself with my objections, the court urgently complied with all the demands of Gubarev and Reshetnikov and declared the article entitled ‘Gubarev’s importation: Putin’s IT guys take over Cyprus» defamatory, banned its publication and distribution.
At the same time, I was not sent a summons to court, and the decision was made in my absence. It is absolutely clear that this was done deliberately, as my presence could have prevented the decision that Gubarev and Reshetnikov wanted from being made quickly and without interference. They feared that I could explain to the court the invalidity of their claims and easily prove that the information published in the article was based on facts taken from open sources. Therefore, everything was done to prevent me from participating in the hearing.
Incidentally, they have the same lawyers, from the law firm “Haris Kiriakidis”. This firm has been serving Gubarev for a long time. As for Reshetnikov, I do not understand the essence of his claims. Everything written about him in the article is true and can be easily verified in open sources. Most of the information about him and Gubarev was taken from an article in Forbes entitled «Northern Supply: How Russian-speaking migrants changed Cyprus.» But for some reason, they have no complaints about Forbes, but they do have complaints about CDN. Selective guys, touchy.
After the court ruled that the article was defamatory and banned its publication, it remained available on the internet, as far as I know. This became the basis for another lawsuit against me, Khmelnitsky, Shulipa, and Grigoriev, now for allegedly failing to comply with the court’s decision, filed by the same Gubarev and Reshetnikov.
And then, miraculously, the court suddenly remembered how notifications work and very promptly sent me notices of court hearings on May 14 (Gubarev) and May 28 (Reshetnikov) that I was required to attend. Why the court failed to notify me of the need to appear in court in early March is a rhetorical question. On May 14, the court was postponed to May 27, then to June 18, then to June 23. The court hearing that took place on May 28 was postponed to June 18, and then to October 9. I attended all the court hearings, I did not miss a single one, except for June 23.
On June 20, an event occurred that made my personal presence in court on the appointed date impossible. I sent my representative to the court, who informed the clerk of the judge hearing the case about the situation and presented an official document confirming the valid reason for my absence.
This information was recorded in the judge’s clerk’s journal and brought to the attention of Gubarev’s lawyers.
After that, I waited for notification of a new court date. The court has a whole arsenal of ways to inform the parties to the proceedings: sending a summons by registered mail, delivery by courier, or delivery by bailiffs or the police. It is important to note that the case is being heard by a civil court, not a criminal court. I am neither a suspect nor a dangerous person. No charges have been brought against me.
In extreme cases, if a person repeatedly fails to appear in court without a valid reason, the judge may issue an arrest warrant, and the person will then be forcibly brought to the courtroom. I assumed that, as last time, a bailiff would come to me and hand me the court summons. I underestimated the degree of Gubarev’s malice and the extent of his influence.
On the evening of July 7, I received a call from the police inviting me to the station, explaining that it was necessary to familiarize me with an important document. I immediately realized that this was most likely a court summons, and, suspecting no trickery, calmly went to the station. There, I was informed that I had been arrested on the orders of a Limassol court and would have to appear before a judge the following day. In the morning, the police took me to Limassol, where I spent about an hour at the police station before being taken to court at 11:00 a.m.
After a brief procedural formality, the judge asked me why I had not appeared in court on June 23. I explained the reason and reminded him that my representative had informed his secretary that I would be unable to attend court on that day for a valid reason and presented a document confirming this. I therefore complied with the procedure required by law and did not violate anything.
The secretary who was present at the hearing confirmed my words and showed the relevant entry in the register. After that, the judge acknowledged that I was absent for a valid reason, did not violate the court’s order, and scheduled the next hearing for September 16.
At this point, Gubareva’s lawyer became indignant and said that it did not matter what I said or what documents I showed, the main thing was that I had not complied with the order and had not appeared in court. She demanded that the judge revoke the guarantee I had signed at the beginning of the trial (a measure that entails a number of serious consequences for the participant in the proceedings) and insisted that I be punished.
The judge rejected all of her demands.
After that, I went home.
In other words, I was arrested and brought to court under escort just to be told of a new court date. Let me remind you that this is a civil case, not a criminal one. I could have been summoned to court by summons, letter, or courier. But the judge chose the most extreme and harshest method—arrest.
To execute the court order, three police officers in Paphos, instead of catching criminals and ensuring security in the city, spent five hours finding me, taking me to the police station, and processing my arrest. Two more police officers spent over an hour processing my detention. Then, two more police officers arrived from Limassol in a patrol car, wasting fuel and working time, and took me to court. It was madness.
In other words, instead of sending a regular summons, they wasted taxpayers’ money and took about a dozen police officers away from important work. And all for the sake of throwing a party on «Russian Street.» Apparently, no budget money is too much for this.
It is obvious that everything was planned and carried out on Gubarev’s orders. The goal is crystal clear: to put pressure on me, scare me, and break me down psychologically. But this special operation had another goal—an informational and psychological one. At the very moment I appeared in the courthouse, that article was published on the Cyprus Mail website. I believe that no one doubts that it was commissioned. Especially since it was written not by a native English speaker, but by someone whose native language is Russian.
There is not a word of truth in the article, except for one fact: my arrest on charges of defamation. Everything else is lies, manipulation, and an attempt to discredit me. The defamation is obvious, it sticks out in every sentence. Not to mention that, given the high circulation and wide readership, this can be interpreted as pressure on the court.
Over the past few years, Cyprus Mail has published dozens of articles, notes, and mentions about Alexey Gubarev and his association TechIsland. The publication’s website advertises the City Friends Club, which is run by his wife, Anna Gubareva. It is not difficult to guess that Cyprus Mail derives considerable benefit from this «friendship.»
In essence, the publication acts as Alexei Gubarev’s personal PR agency. And now, as it turns out, it also serves as a channel for spreading lies and disinformation. It’s all clear here — money doesn’t smell.
Our reference:
Cyprus Mail was bought in 2019 by lawyer Andreas Neocleos, who was one of the key channels for Russian influence in Cyprus. His law firm actively worked with Russian companies and investors, ensuring the inflow and safe storage of criminal money from Russia. He has visited Moscow several times at the invitation of the Russian government. He opened an office for his law firm in Moscow. Andreas Neocleous was a member of the Council of the Association of Russian Businessmen in Cyprus, an organization created by Dmitry Pyanikh, a commander of the First Chief Directorate (foreign intelligence) of the KGB in Cyprus. He collaborated with the Russkiy Mir Foundation, which provides funding for special operations by Russian special services around the world, and received an award from it. He supported the activities of the Russian Center and the Russian House in Limassol, among many other things. After his death, Cyprus Mail passed to his heirs.
B.D. «After the publication in Cyprus Mail, information about my arrest spread like wildfire across the pro-Russian media network in Cyprus:
At 11:40 a.m., an article about this was published on the LENTA CYPRUS website. This is an openly pro-Kremlin resource belonging to the RUSSIAN WAVE MEDIA GROUP, which also owns RUSSIAN RADIO CYPRUS. The name says it all. The owners of the website are closely linked to the Russian special services and are frequent visitors to the Russian Embassy in Nicosia. The resource operates under the full control of the Russian Embassy.
At 12:49 p.m., the news of my arrest was published by VESTNIK KIPRA, which is structurally and functionally an agent center for Russian special services, in particular the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR). The publication is financed through PRAVFOND, which is one of the SVR’s divisions.
Vestnik Kipra is owned by Natalia Kardash, an agent of the SVR and a partner of the TechIsland association. Her work for the Russian special services is beyond doubt, and information about this is easy to find in open sources.
On the same day, this article appeared on other resources belonging to the pro-Kremlin media network in Cyprus. In particular, on the Cyprus Inform website, which is controlled by a man named Alexey Okulov. I will talk about him separately; an article about this person will appear a little later.
The publication also appeared on Russian Cyprus News, which is also part of a network created by Russian special services to conduct propaganda and disinformation operations, manipulate public opinion, and promote the Kremlin’s interests in Cyprus.
I have written extensively and at length about the existence of an agent network in Cyprus created by Russian special services to promote Russia’s influence, propaganda, and disinformation, as well as to manipulate public opinion in Moscow’s interests. My arrest was a clear illustration of how coordinated this network is. It exposed the mechanics of its operations, highlighted key nodes, and became a source of invaluable information about its structure and methods of operation. First, it became clear how closely and precisely the various elements of this network interact with each other on orders from a single center. Second, the involvement of traditional Cypriot media in its structure can now be considered definitively proven, although there was no doubt about this before. And third, the arrest demonstrated how wealthy «Russian Cypriots» use this agent network, created by Russian secret services, to their advantage.
It was worth going through the arrest just for that.»
B.D. «As for the allegations that I allegedly failed to provide evidence to support my published statements, this is a lie. No one even asked me about this evidence. During the entire trial, the judge never asked me a single question about the substance of the case. All the hearings were reduced to postponements.
And who decided that these were my statements? Gubarev? Where is the evidence? The court has not investigated anything yet. As I have already said, the article was declared defamatory without even attempting to examine it.
In this context, I am reminded of an article in Forbes, which details Gubarev’s influence on the Cypriot government.
B.D. «As for the fact that CDN is not registered with the PIO as a media outlet, that is a separate and very interesting story.
In 2019, immediately after the website was launched, I personally submitted an application to the PIO and submitted the documents for registration. As a result, Cyprus Daily News was registered as an electronic media outlet with an annual renewal procedure. In 2020, I renewed the registration for another year.
However, everything changed after the release of my joint investigation with Dmitry Khmelnitsky entitled «Operation Party» about the «Russian» political party EOP, which, as we discovered, was actually a project of the Russian special services to infiltrate their agents into the political establishment of Cyprus. This material caused a scandal, party members filed a complaint with the police, and… the police opened a criminal case against me.
I don’t want to go into the details of this story right now, but anyone who wants to can find the publications online. Suffice it to say that the police did everything they could to put me in jail and save the party of Russian spies. Among other things, the police spent a long time carefully studying the website’s registration with the PIO, hoping to find violations.
After that, my next application to the PIO to extend the website’s registration was rejected. When I asked why, I was told that electronic media are only subject to registration if they have a print version, and that the initial registration of Cyprus Daily News in 2019 was a «mistake.» I still have the correspondence with the PIO management.
After I left the project in October 2021, I did not pursue the matter further.
Later, I found out why the police were so eager to put me in jail and save a party of Russian spies. It turned out that one of the top Cyprus police officials was friends with the head of this party and had studied with him in Russia. At his friend’s request, this high-ranking police officer ordered his subordinates to do everything they could to destroy me. In addition, the Russian embassy was putting pressure on the police. Ambassador Osadchy personally called the police chief and demanded that measures be taken against me. Don’t believe that such a thing is possible? Read the books by Cypriot journalist Makarios Drusiotis, Putin’s Island and Crime in Crans-Montana. In them, he recounts how Russian Ambassador Stanislav Osadchy demanded in no uncertain terms that he be dismissed from his post as advisor to President Anastasiades for writing the book The Invasion and the Great Powers, in which he explained that the Turkish invasion of Cyprus was provoked by Moscow. Anastasiades complied with Ambassador Osadchy’s demand.
I recommend everyone read Drusiotis’ books; much of what is happening now in Cyprus will become clear.
B.D. «I will refrain from commenting on other issues for now so as not to help the lawyers of Gubarev and Reshetnikov.»
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After talking with Boris Demash, we have a question for the Russian special services:
Please tell us, what services to the motherland must a person who has renounced Russian citizenship and declared a break with Russia have rendered in order to be allowed to use the agent network created and controlled by you for his own purposes? We would like to receive a response from Lieutenant General Murad Zyazikov of the FSB, who is also the Russian ambassador to Cyprus, or from Colonel Erkin Topoev of the FSB, who is also an advisor to the Russian embassy in Cyprus.
Thank you in advance for your response.
And finally, a personal message from the editorial team of Cyprus Daily News to Alexey Gubarev:
Dear Alexei Alexandrovich,
we sincerely thank you for the powerful publicity for our publication!
Thanks to your information attack in the KGB trash, traffic to our website has increased exponentially, and articles about you are now at the top of search results.
We ask you not to stop and to continue in the same vein so that as many people as possible learn the truth about you.
Thank you, dear comrade.
The interview was conducted and prepared by Viktor Kostenko
Read more on the topic:
Gubarev’s importation: Putin’s IT guys take over Cyprus
Russian Capital and Technology: How Putin’s Oligarchs Penetrate European Business Through Cyprus
A journalist is on trial in Cyprus for an article he did not write
Alexei Gubarev, a Cypriot and Lithuanian citizen, supports the Putin regime by funding Kremlin propaganda
“Golden Flight” of a Russian Cypriot: Alexey Gubarev’s Corrupt Schemes in Kyrgyzstan