Given that, based on her professional experience, there were serious indications that could have led the Social Welfare Services to file a petition for an order removing Stylianos Konstantinou from his his family environment, insisted former social worker S.K. before the Nicosia District Court.

The witness testified on Friday in the case investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of the 14-year-old, who took his own life in September 2019.

Responding to questions from the defense attorney for the third defendant, Victor Akama, S.K. stated that after her previous testimony, she reviewed the case files again in order —as she put it—to be certain that she would not wrong anyone with her answers.

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She clarified, however, that she does not know exactly what actions were or were not taken by the specific Social Welfare Services worker, noting that this is a matter to be decided by the Court based on the totality of the testimony and evidence.

Nevertheless, she stated that, based on her experience in handling particularly difficult family cases—even in instances where there were only indications of neglect or abuse— the Social Welfare Services would proceed to file applications for orders to remove children.

“In my personal opinion, there was sufficient evidence that the Services should have examined and that should have led to the filing of a petition with the court for the issuance of a removal order,” he said.

She added that she had also worked with other district social welfare offices, where similar procedures had been followed in comparable cases.

When it was suggested that her opinion was expressed more in her capacity as a mother, educator, and citizen rather than as a professional, the witness disagreed, arguing that her position is based exclusively on her professional experience and on the practices implemented by Social Welfare Services during the period in question.

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At the same time, she clarified that she is not in a position to know whether the officials responsible for this specific case did everything they were supposed to do, reiterating that she was testifying only about what she knew from her own experience and not regarding the specific actions taken in handling the case.

In response to the defense’s argument that Social Welfare Services—and specifically the third defendant—acted appropriately, the witness replied that she disagreed, reiterating that, in her view, there were serious indications, while clarifying, however, that the final assessment rests with the Court.

Referring to the Multidisciplinary Teams, S.K. testified that the goals set were collective decisions and not the personal choices of the participants.

In response to a specific question about domestic violence, she noted that there was no separate goal for that specific issue, adding that its assessment was the responsibility of the Social Welfare Services.

The witness also stated that the responsible Social Welfare Services officer was kept informed of what was discussed at the Multidisciplinary Team meetings, primarily via telephone.

As she said, she kept personal notes in her diaries and expressed her certainty that the officer had been informed, though she was unable to specify exactly who had provided the information or when it had taken place.

Regarding the absence of minutes from subsequent Multidisciplinary meetings, the witness stated that during the period in question, there was no obligation to keep official minutes.

She explained that the Ministry’s Form B1 served as the prescribed recommendation form and not as meeting minutes, while the notes she kept “were personal.”

Regarding the reports of domestic violence, S.K. explained that she did not include a related finding in her report, as it was not within her authority to determine that domestic violence had occurred.

As she noted, what she could establish was the existence of evidence and circumstances that might suggest neglect or domestic violence, but it did not have sufficient evidence to reach a definitive conclusion.

The possibility of recognizing Stylianos after all these years

During cross-examination, the issue of her contact with Stylianos was also raised.

The witness rejected the suggestion that she had never seen the children, testifying that she visited them at school and observed them together with colleagues in the school setting.

She admitted, however, that after so many years had passed, she could not positively identify Stylianos from a photograph, noting that she remembered certain general features of his appearance.

Proceedings to Resume in September

With the conclusion of S.K.’s cross-examination, the proceedings before the Nicosia District Court will resume on September 7, 2026, at 11:00 a.m., with a new prosecution witness.

The case concerns the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of 14-year-old Stylianos Konstantinou, with the Court examining potential liability both within the family and on the part of government agencies.

At the center of the proceedings are, among other things, allegations of abuse or neglect within the family, whether the mother was aware of such incidents without reporting them, as well as whether the relevant Social Welfare Services officials adequately assessed and handled the information before them.

Source: CNA