The decision by the Legal Service and the Office of the President of the Republic to grant a pardon and a suspension of sentence to convicted felon Charalambos HRysanthou, also known as “Hamburger.” The 43-year-old was serving a 35-year prison sentence for two attempted murder cases, involving a total of five victims, in Larnaca and Ayia Napa, as well as a 5-year prison sentence for the rape and beating of a woman.
Deputy Government Spokesperson Yiannis Antoniou explained on the Alpha News program that the decision to grant a presidential pardon was made with the consent of the Attorney General and the Assistant Attorney General, given that the convicted felon had joined the witness protection program and became a prosecution witness against another defendant “for much more serious offenses.”
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“In any case, this convicted person, who was placed in the witness protection program, will leave the Republic and will not have the right to return. This is a common practice not only in Cyprus but internationally. You choose the lesser of two evils.”
Distinguished legal scholar Christoforos Christofis noted that the authorities may have also taken measures to protect the 43-year-old’s family and pointed out that the Legal Service’s announcement accurately explains the current legal framework for granting a presidential pardon to convicted individuals.
“Those who know the facts and made the decision did the right thing by explaining it to us in such detail.”
READ ALSO: Uproar Over the “Hamburger” Release: What Are the Legal Service’s Explanations for the Presidential Pardon?
