Stolen president's body recovered

Cyprus's justice minister said it had been held for ransom but Mr Papadopoulos' family never received a demand for money.

The right-wing Greek Cypriot hard-liner's body was stolen in December during slow-moving reunification talks with Turkish Cypriot leaders. A lack of clear motive and few clues led to speculation that the theft was politically motivated.

The robbers removed a heavy marble plaque from the grave on the outskirts of the Cypriot capital, Nicosia, then dug down to the coffin and removed the body on December 11. Despite help from international crime agencies there was little progress until the family received a phone tip-off from a man speaking broken Greek.