The five defendants in the private criminal prosecution brought by the family of Thanasis Nikolaou have reserved their pleas, as the defence argued that the revised indictment could mislead them and called for the charges to be dismissed.
The court is expected to rule on the defence applications on 29 September at 11am. Depending on the decision, the next steps in the case will be determined.
The defendants are forensic pathologist Panikos Stavrianos; former Limassol Police Director Andreas Iatropoulos; former head of the Limassol Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Nikos Sofocleous; former head of the Rural Police, Christakis Nathanael; and former head of the Platres police station cluster, Christakis Kapiotiotis.
Defence raises concerns over lack of detail
During Friday's preliminary objections hearing, the prosecution clarified that it could not meet the defence request for further particulars of the revised indictment.
The prosecution argued that, at this stage, there was no provision for such details to be set out, as they related to the evidence and the subsequent hearing of the case.
Defence lawyers asked the court to determine whether the prosecution was correct in refusing to provide further particulars and to discharge their clients from the charges.
For the proceedings to continue, the five defendants were formally called upon to enter their pleas. However, their lawyers said their clients were not ready to respond, citing a risk of being misled because certain aspects of the indictment had not been specified.
Among the issues raised was the failure, according to the defence, to identify the specific criminal act which the defendants are alleged to have concealed by neglecting their duties.
Jurisdiction also challenged
The defence also challenged the court's jurisdiction to hear the case on the basis of charges 26 and 27.
It was argued that four criminal investigations and two police inquiries had already been carried out.
Christakis Kapiotiotis, who is representing himself, referred to what he described as an institutional contradiction and called for the matter to be referred to the Supreme Court for an opinion.
Prosecution rejects claim of misleading charges
In response, the prosecution argued that the defence had not presented sufficient evidence or information to establish why there was a risk that the defendants would be misled and therefore unable to respond to the charges.
The prosecution stressed that the case was not about proving that the death amounted to murder, but about whether the defendants had properly carried out their duties.
The court is expected to issue its decision on the defence applications on 29 September at 11am.
If the indictment is not dismissed, the case will proceed to a full hearing, expected to begin in mid-October.
Source: CNA
