The decision not to approve the requests to suspend criminal proceedings against the defendants in the Central Prison documents case was announced on Friday before the Permanent Criminal Court of Leuc, clarifying, however, that the Attorney General retains the option to reconsider his decision.
First Attorney for the Republic, Vasilis Bissas, stated before the Court that the Prosecution does not intend to approve the requests to suspend criminal proceedings against defendants 4 through 8, which were submitted to the Legal Service. He clarified, however, that this does not preclude the possibility that the Attorney General might reconsider his decision.
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Meanwhile, during the hearing, the second defendant, Athina Dimitriou, stated that she had not received all of the evidentiary material, citing omissions in investigative statements, search warrants, and related attachments. She stated that, in her opinion, this material is favorable to the defense and for this reason has not been handed over.
For his part, Mr. Bissas stated that the evidentiary material had been provided to the defense when the case was referred to trial and that the Legal Service is ready to immediately hand over whatever is missing, once it is specified. He also questioned why the issue concerns only the second defendant, while the other defendants have received the material. Regarding the defense’s claim as to why the material was not delivered, Mr. Bissas stated that he would not comment, noting that “it is not relevant to the present case.”
The Nicosia Permanent Criminal Court set the case for a hearing on October 29 at 9:30 a.m.
It should be noted that the defendants in the case are the former Director of the Central Prisons, 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 state property, involving 48,432 documents, 370 architectural plans of the Central Prison, and 431 items containing digital data.
The indictment also includes charges of abuse of authority in connection with the removal of documents, drawings, and digital data outside the Prison, specifically to the chief warden’s residence. Anna Aristotelous faces an additional charge, as, according to the indictment, she allegedly allowed the leak of classified documents while serving as Director.
Source: CNA
