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The parliament in Cyprus' capital Nicosia has tightened the penalties for the murder of women
Photo: Filip Singer/ dpa
In the face of increasing domestic violence, the Cyprus parliament has tightened the penalties for the murder of women.
The law, which allows life imprisonment for so-called femicides, was passed by 38 votes on Friday;
four MPs in Nicosia voted against.
The bill was submitted by Annita Demetriou, the first woman to chair the Cyprus Parliament.
According to the police, 20 murders of women were registered within three years in the EU country of Cyprus, which is home to around one million people.
Last month, an 84-year-old man killed his wife, who was two years his junior, in the southern city of Limassol.
In 2019, a serial killer murdered five women and two young girls.
Domestic violence increased by 67 percent between 2020 and 2021, according to police data.
Compared to 2019, when the novel corona virus did not yet cause lockdowns and other restrictions, the increase was even 159 percent.
jso/AFP