Court of Appeal orders retrial for Giorgos Christodoulou Zavranton

The Cyprus Court of Appeal has overturned the 22-year prison sentence of Giorgos Christodoulou, known as Zavrantonas, in a drug-related case. The court cited a miscarriage of justice due to irregularities involving the change in the composition of the Criminal Court during the initial proceedings. The defendant, who has already served six years of his sentence at the Central Prison, was previously convicted of drug possession while being acquitted of conspiracy and supply charges. The retrial must be filed within fifteen days. Defense attorney Christos Poutziouris submitted 22 arguments for the appeal, focusing on judicial procedural errors. The prosecution's case relied heavily on a witness who had been sentenced to 16 years for the same case but was later granted a presidential pardon after joining a witness protection program. Zavrantonas, who was originally arrested in the occupied territories and handed over to Republic of Cyprus authorities, is expected to seek release on bail pending the new trial. Legal sources suggest that if the key prosecution witness fails to appear, the case could be dropped.