Two men have been charged in connection with the October 5 massacre of 52 Red-footed Falcons Falco vespertinus in the Phasouri area of Cypus, within the Akrotiri British Sovereign Base Area (SBA). The accused, from the Limassol area, pleaded not guilty to the charges, which carry a penalty of up to three years imprisonment or a fine of 10,000 (?17,000), or both. The court set the first hearing for the trial for January 8. The shocking massacre of the migrating falcons – the worst incident of bird of prey killing ever reported in Cyprus – made headlines across Europe after BirdLife Cyprus released shocking pictures of the gunned down birds.