Closing submissions in the second 'trial-within-a-trial' will be heard on 3 December at 9am, the Nicosia Criminal Court announced on Friday. The decision followed an extensive cross-examination focused on the voluntariness of a statement given by a German real-estate agent accused of unlawfully dealing in Greek Cypriot property in the north.
Numerous objections raised
The hearing lasted more than five hours, including a break. Both sides submitted an agreed statement of facts, while the bulk of the time was spent on the cross-examination of the defendant by prosecutor Anna Matthaiou. The prosecution put to the defendant that her statement on 11 July 2024 to the CID Headquarters was made voluntarily, without pressure, after she had been informed of her rights in German. These included the right to silence and the right against self-incrimination. The court also heard that she had spoken to and received legal advice from her lawyer, Sotiris Argyrou.
Argyrou raised several objections, arguing that many of the prosecutor’s questions went beyond the scope of the 'trial-within-a-trial'. He maintained that they touched on the substance of the allegations and the defendant’s potential culpability, rather than the specific question of voluntariness. In a number of instances, the bench agreed and disallowed questions for straying into the content of the statement. Presiding Judge Nikolaos Georgiadis also expressed concern about aspects of the prosecution’s approach. In other cases, however, the court allowed questions deemed relevant to the issue under examination.
Fears for family in Germany
The defendant repeatedly told the court she gave her 11 July statement because she knew police had seized material from her personal belongings, including her laptop, tablet, mobile phone, and access to files and emails. She said she believed providing clarifications could help her and that she was also worried about possible repercussions for her family and relatives in Germany.
She further told the court that she considers herself innocent. Although her lawyer had advised her to plead guilty to reduce any eventual sentence, she said she trusts the judicial process to acquit her. She argued that the charges were based on the account of a person with whom she had only a brief exchange, in broken English, on an aeroplane, an exchange about which, she claimed, she was never questioned.
Regarding her German-based property-sales website, she insisted that no offence arises from its operation. She added that she would not have provided her detailed statement on 11 July had police not already been in possession of the material seized during her arrest at Larnaca Airport on 7 July 2024.