The Prosecution is reviewing requests to suspend criminal proceedings against specific defendants in the case involving the Central Prison documents, with the Nicosia Permanent Criminal Court postponing today’s hearing until October 9, following a request by the Prosecution.
The request for a brief postponement was submitted to the Criminal Court by First Attorney of the Republic Vasilis Bissas, explaining that the relevant motions had been filed by defendants 4 through 8 and that the prosecution needed time to review them, given the large volume of case materials.
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As he noted, the requests concerning defendants 4 through 8 were received by the prosecution on September 25, with the exception of the request concerning defendant 5, whose attorney had already indicated at a previous hearing his intention to file such a motion.
Mr. Bissas also said that, should the motions be granted, it would save time for the Court as well, as it could affect the further course of the proceedings.
Meanwhile, Anna Aristotelous’s attorney, Christos Triantafyllides, stated his readiness to begin the hearing today, given, as he said, the employment status of Defendant 1, who is currently on administrative leave. Furthermore, the attorneys representing Defendants 2 and 3 also stated their readiness.
The Criminal Court, having taken into account the arguments presented before it by Mr. Bissa, granted the request for a postponement, ruling that the Prosecution’s position could significantly influence the case. The case was scheduled for a hearing on October 9 at 10:00 a.m.
It should be noted that the defendants in this case are the former Director of the Central Prison, Anna Aristotelous, the former Deputy Director, Athina Dimitriou, five members of the correctional facility, and a former member who is now a police officer.
The defendants face nine joint charges, including conspiracy to commit a felony and theft of government property—namely, 48,432 documents, 370 architectural plans of the Central Prison, and 431 items containing digital data.
In addition, the indictment includes charges relating to abuse of authority in connection with the removal of documents, plans, and digital data from the Prisons—specifically to the chief warden’s residence. It should be noted that Anna Aristotelous faces an additional charge, as, according to the indictment, while she held the position of Director, she allegedly allowed classified documents to be leaked.
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