Imprisonment and Later Years
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The invasion lost Sampson much of his popular appeal. He claimed not to have anticipated the impending coup that had installed him, adding that, after military officers had insisted, he "saw the possibility of civil war and accepted" in order to prevent the clashes. Nonetheless, Sampson was prosecuted and sentenced to 20 years in prison for abuse of power (nosfisi eksousias) (Greek: Νόσφηση Εξουσίας) in 1976.
In 1979, only three years into his prison sentence, he was allowed to go to France on medical grounds. Living in Neuilly, and then in Fourqueux, he was supported by funds of friends. He spent much of his time between Paris and Marseilles before returning to Cyprus in June 1990 to complete his sentence.
Following his release from Nicosia Central Prison in 1993, he went back to the newspaper publishing business.He died of cancer on May 10, 2001 in Nicosia at the age of 65.
He is survived by his wife Vera and two children, one of whom is a lawyer and the other a journalist. His son Sotiris Sampson was elected member of the House of Representatives of Cyprus for three terms in a row in Famagusta District.
Read more about this topic: Nikos Sampson
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