The trial over the murder of Stavros Demosthenous continued on Wednesday without substantive progress, as the defendants did not respond to the charges as scheduled.
The Limassol Criminal Court set 27 May as the new date for the defendants’ response, after being told that several issues remain unresolved, mainly concerning the handover of evidentiary material.
Defence lawyers asked the prosecution to provide further details on the offences listed in the charge sheet, saying this was necessary before their clients could respond. They noted that all defendants face common charges and asked for each person’s alleged role and involvement to be clarified.
The evidentiary material was again a central issue during the hearing. According to the defence, they have still not received the full case file. They said they were given two hard drives only a week ago, containing a large volume of material that is almost impossible to review in such a short time.
They also requested an index or another document setting out what the files contain, so they can focus on the material relevant to each defendant.
One defence lawyer said he had spoken with the lead investigator, who, according to his account, said that a significant part of the evidentiary material was still pending.
Of the six defendants, four will remain in custody as remand prisoners at the Central Prisons, while one will remain free under the same conditions. An objection was raised to the continued detention of another defendant, aged 28, and the court reserved its decision for later in the day.