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Iakovos Patatsos

Iakovos Patatsos

Iakovos Patatsos was a Cypriot guerilla fighter during the EOKA struggle against the British from 1955 until 1959.

Patatsos was born in Lefkosia on July 1, 1934. He worked in a printing press and joined EOKA early in the struggle.

On April 23, 1956, Patatsos and a companion went into the Turkish sector of Lefkosia on a mission to kill an informer. The mission failed and Patatsos was seized by Turkish Cypriot Police Constable Nihat Basif. The companion shot Basif dead and escaped but Patatsos himself was attacked by Turkish Cypriot passerbys who beat him mercilessly and then surrendered him to the British.

Patatsos was convicted of Basif's murder and hanged, along with Andreas Zakos and Charilaos Michail, on August 9, 1956.

The three men were buried in the Central Jail of Lefkosia.