The postponement of the trial in the case against the German real estate agent, who is accused of misappropriating Greek Cypriot properties in the Turkish-occupied areas of the Republic of Cyprus, was decided on Friday by the Nicosia Criminal Court, approving a motion by the prosecution, despite objections from the defense.
It was decided that the proceedings would continue on September 7, 9, and 11 at 9:00 a.m.
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Subsequently, the Court rejected a motion by the defense to lift the defendant’s detention order, ruling that there were no grounds to justify her release. The defense based its motion on the total duration of the defendant’s pretrial detention, which amounts to 26 months, including the period during which the trial was adjourned.
Regarding the request to postpone the trial, the prosecution explained that, due to the unique circumstances of the current period, the witnesses who are to be called were unable to appear at Friday’s hearing, either because they are away from Cyprus on vacation or because they are facing health issues.
The Prosecution stated that starting in the first week of September, it may call witnesses, and added that witnesses from abroad may also begin testifying after the second week of September. The prosecution noted that so far in the course of the case, it has never caused any delays or postponements, and that the request for a postponement at this stage does not cause any significant delay, given that the upcoming testimony is limited in scope.
The defense objected to the request, pointing out that the defendant has been in custody for 25 months and that by the time the proceedings resume, she will have served 26 months. They argued that during this period, if she had been found guilty and were serving a seven-year prison sentence, she would have been entitled to apply for parole, something that her current circumstances do not allow.
This was also the defense’s main argument in support of the defendant’s request for release, given the decision to adjourn the trial, as well as the possibility that the trial could last another month after proceedings resume.
Furthermore, the defense argued that, 25 months later, any concern about the defendant fleeing has been eliminated, because in such a scenario the defendant would be admitting her guilt. They reiterated that the defendant, if released, intends to post a cash bond of 300,000 euros, stay at a hotel in Nicosia and report to a police station as often as requested, surrender her travel documents, and be placed on a no-fly list.
The prosecution objected to the request for release, stating that it is premature to make assumptions about the remaining duration of the trial, adding that 29 witnesses have testified so far, with 11 still to testify, and that the last eight witnesses to appear in court completed their testimony over the course of three court sessions.
The Court announced that it had unanimously rejected the defendant’s request for release. Explaining this decision, it noted, among other things, that the length of pretrial detention cannot in and of itself constitute grounds for changing the decision, and that accepting the defense’s argument regarding the loss of rights to mitigating circumstances and consequently treating the duration of pretrial detention as time served, would violate the presumption of innocence of the defendant.
It further noted that the 25-month duration of the proceedings is justified by the complexity of the case, the conduct of trials within the proceedings, and the issuance of interim rulings, which took up a significant amount of time.
Source: KYPE
