The Court of Appeals unanimously rejected the appeal filed by the German real estate agent, Eva Isabella Künzel, who is accused of misappropriating Greek Cypriot properties in the occupied village of Agios Amvrosios in the district of Kyrenia, ruled that, based on the evidence before it, her 26-month detention did not constitute a violation of her rights.
The Court of Appeals’ decision, dated September 15, 2026, concerns the appeal against the decision of the Nicosia Criminal Court to continue the defendant’s detention, following a further postponement of the hearing of the case. The defendant has been in custody since July 19, 2024, while the trial before the Criminal Court has been ongoing since March 2025.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
As stated in the ruling, the defendant faces 46 charges, which relate, among other things, to fraudulent transactions involving real estate belonging to another person, unlawful possession and use of real estate without the owners’ consent, and money laundering.
It should be noted that the allegations against the appellant pertain to transactions involving real estate in the occupied village of Agios Ambrosios in the district of Kyrenia, between 2023 and 2024, during which time the Prosecution contends that residential complexes were being constructed.
The Court of Appeals noted that the appellant “has repeatedly brought the matter before both the Nicosia Criminal Court, before which the case against her is being heard, and the Court of Appeals, with the issue of her ordered detention.”
As noted in the decision, her detention was ordered at first instance on the grounds of flight risk, and that ruling was upheld on appeal. At the same time, requests for the imposition of bail conditions or objections to the continuation of detention were filed from time to time; these were rejected at first instance, and the relevant decisions were upheld by the Court of Appeals.
The Court of Appeals, referring to its previous decision on the same matter, dated September 4, 2026, notes: “It is recalled that our decision, dated September 4, 2026, upheld the trial court’s ruling to continue the appellant’s detention, having examined and rejected the grounds for appeal raised.”
In light of the latest postponement of the case before the Criminal Court, the defendant had argued that her prolonged detention, combined with the postponements, violated her rights. The Criminal Court had noted that “the length of detention may constitute a violation of Article 3” of the ECHR, adding, however, that “in this case, however, we do not find such a violation at this stage.”
The Court of Appeals agreed with the Criminal Court’s approach, ruling that the postponement was justified and that there was nothing objectionable regarding the handling of the case by the Prosecution or the trial court.
“A postponement of a few days does not constitute an excessive delay; it cannot be considered a distinguishing factor. The case has been scheduled to proceed with clear instructions,” states the Criminal Court’s decision, which was upheld by the Court of Appeals.
The Court of Appeals further notes that the remaining grounds for the appeal had already been examined in the September 4 decision and that no new facts have emerged to justify a different ruling.
“In this light, it could be said that the present appeal borders on an abuse of process, since the events that transpired in the days immediately preceding the hearing were not sufficient to overturn the findings of the immediately preceding hearing,” the Court of Appeals states.
It adds that “the issues raised in the remaining grounds for appeal do not differ from what was decided in our aforementioned decision, dated September 4, 2026,” and ruled that grounds for appeal 2, 3, and 4 were “without merit.”
“As a result, the present appeal is dismissed in its entirety. The judgment of the court of first instance is affirmed,” the Court of Appeals concludes.
It should be noted that today’s hearing before the Nicosia Criminal Court had been scheduled to continue the hearing of the case, with testimony given via videoconference.
Source: CNA
