In a new twist to the process of private criminal prosecutions on the 2005 death of national guard conscript Thanasis Nikolaou, criminal prosecutor Savvas Matsas has recused himself from the case, which will now be taken over by the Christos Clerides office.
At a hearing today before the Limassol Criminal Court, attorney Alexandros Clerides requested a postponement in order to bring himself up to speed with the facts of the case and be in a position to present arguments during the next court date.
Defence Council strongly disagreed, requesting that pre-trial defence objections are considered or submitted first.
Matsas said that his intention to testify as a witness is connected to his previous capacity as Independent Criminal Prosecutor and the fact that the 2nd prosecutor in the case is a candidate judge in the naval court and does not wish to testify.
'There is also another serious reason,' Matsas added, which he did not disclose, noting however that it's connected to the pre-trial defence objections.
Pre-trial defence objections
Attorneys to the five accused rejected the postponement request, adding that their objections should be submitted today and then time provided for their examination. On behalf of accused 3, Loris Vrahimis said that they received 1200 pages of testimonial evidence, although it was initially reported that witness accounts amounted to 6 thousand pages.
'Witness testimony has not been received yet', defence claimed, adding that Matsas has taken the testimony itself so he should have known in the first place that he needed to recuse himself from prosecution. 'This is unprecedented abuse,', they said.
The Court was expected to decide before the end of the day.