Former Greek dictator Ioannidis dies on Cyprus anniversary

In an ironic coincidence, former Greek dictator Dimitris Ioannidis, one of the leaders of a 1967-1974 military junta whose actions sent Cyprus into war with Turkey, died on the day of the declaration of the Republic of Cyprus, the state he tried to destroy 36 years ago.
Ioannides died on Monday from lung disease at the age of 87, hospital staff said.
He was transferred to hospital Sunday night from prison, where he had been serving a life sentence, having been found guilty of high treason in 1975.
“He was hospitalised last night and died this morning,” an official at the Nikaia state hospital in Athens told Reuters.
As the junta's military police chief, Ioannidis was one of those responsible for a bloody crackdown against an uprising at the Athens Polytechnic University in 1973. Days later, he overthrew dictator George Papadopoulos.
Ioannidis was also behind a coup that overthrew Cypriot president Archbishop Makarios in July 1974, triggering a Turkish invasion and the division of the island.
Ioannidis was handed a death sentence for high treason in 1975, later reduced to life imprisonment.