Cyprus rejects request to halt prosecution of British man — Cyprus Mail
Cyprus’s attorney general has rejected a request to suspend the criminal prosecution of a British citizen whose young son died after falling from a hotel window in Chloraka. A representative of the legal service told the Paphos District Court that the proceedings should continue in the public interest, Cyprus Mail reports.
The father has been charged with causing death through a reckless or negligent act. According to the publication, the boy fell from a fourth-floor window at a hotel in Chloraka on July 12, shortly after the family arrived in Cyprus for a holiday.
Defence request
Lawyer Alexandros Alexandrou said that the defence filed the request on August 7. Its arguments included humanitarian circumstances and the ordeal the family had endured following the child’s death. According to the lawyer, one of the main reasons for the request was the family’s need to be together to cope with the loss and support one another.
The attorney general’s response arrived on Wednesday afternoon — the day the boy would have turned three. Alexandrou said it consisted of only three lines. In court, the attorney general’s representative acknowledged the tragedy suffered by the family but said the legal service considered continuing the case to be in the public interest.
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Next hearing
The father was allowed to travel to the United Kingdom for his son’s funeral. This week, he returned to Cyprus with his parents and surrendered his travel documents again.
The lawyer said he would discuss the possible options, procedure and consequences of the case with his client. According to him, the father also needs to understand what evidence may be considered in court and whether he can testify himself. Alexandrou expressed disappointment with the decision and noted that the process could force the family to relive the circumstances of the child’s death.
The next hearing at the Paphos District Court has been scheduled for September 22 at 9:00. The father is to state his position on the charge then.
