Nicos Sampson

Nicos Sampson was born in Famagusta on 16 Dec 1935. He was a journalist, but when EOKA began their campaign against British rule he worked for George Grivas as an assassin, shooting British servicemen and agents, mostly in Ledra Street, Nicosia. In 1957 he was arrested twice, the second time he was convicted and sentenced to death, but instead served life imprisonment in Britain. Under a general amnesty he was released and by August 1960 he was back in Cyprus just as the Island gained Independence. He returned to journalism and founded the newspaper Mahi (Greek for ‘battle’). When trouble flared between Greek and Turkish Cypriots he joined in the fighting. After a battle at Omorphita he committed atrocities and earned the nickname ‘Butcher of Omorphita’ His victims included Turkish Cypriots and Greek left-wingers.
Sampson went into politics in 1969, founding the Progressive Front, and was elected to the House of Representatives in 1970. In the year 1974, several major events took place. Grivas died in January, and the Greek Military Junta backed a coup on 15 July to depose Archbishop Makarios III. The Presidential Palace was destroyed and Makarios was assumed to be dead, so Nicos Sampson was installed as President of Cyprus. But his term of office lasted only a week, during which the island was invaded by Turkey, on 20 July 1974. Sampson was forced to resign on 24 July and replaced by Glafkos Clerides. Sampson was arrested and in 1976 sentenced to 20 years for abuse of power. Three years later he was released and allowed to live in France for medical reasons. He returned to Cyprus in 1990 and was imprisoned for three more years. On his release he resumed his career as a journalist until his death on 10 May 2001 in Nicosia. He had been married to Vera and had two children.

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