Nicosia, Cyprus. A court of appeal on Monday ordered a retrial of Georgios Christodoulou Zavrantonas, who was sentenced in 2022 to 22 years in prison for possession of 15 kilograms of cocaine. The court annulled the sentence but ordered he remain in custody pending further proceedings.
Appeal decision and arguments
Zavrantonas’ lawyer, Christos Poutziouris, argued that the court which initially convicted his client was not the “natural” court he would have faced because the composition of its judges changed. He also argued that because Zavrantonas was initially arrested in the north, he had been “kidnapped”.
The court of appeal rejected the argument related to the arrest but accepted the argument concerning the court’s composition, annulling the 22-year sentence.
Next steps in the case
The court ordered that Zavrantonas appear within the next 15 days before a criminal court to face the same charges again. He will remain in custody in the meantime.
Previous convictions
Now aged 49, Zavrantonas has previously received concurrent sentences in 1999 of 12 years in prison for homicide, six years for carrying a pistol, seven years for using a pistol, and two years for possessing explosives without a licence.
In 2005, he was sentenced to seven years in prison for cultivating a Class B drug with the intent to supply. In 2010, he was sentenced to eight years in prison for conspiracy to commit murder and four years in prison for conspiracy to commit a felony.
In 2014, he was sentenced to five years in prison for possessing explosives without a licence, four years in prison for causing grievous bodily harm, and seven years in prison for transporting a firearm, before receiving his longest sentence in 2022.
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