Court adjourns proceedings in Thanasis Nicolaou private criminal prosecution

A Limassol court has adjourned until May 14 the private criminal prosecution case regarding the 2005 death of national guardsman Thanasis Nicolaou. The family of the deceased initiated the prosecution against five individuals, including pathologist Panikos Stavrianos and four senior police officials: Andreas Iatropoulos, Nikos Sofokleous, Christakis Nathanael, and Christakis Kapiliotis. The defendants face 38 counts, including conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and neglect of duty. The current delay follows the prosecution's decision to file an amended charge sheet after the defense previously argued that some original indictments were vague. During Thursday’s hearing, the defense requested additional time to review the revised document before entering a plea. The judge expressed frustration regarding the pace of the proceedings, which have been ongoing since December, and instructed the defense to be prepared to state their position and make opening arguments by the next session. Only two of the five defendants were present in court for this session.