Nicosia, Cyprus. An appeal court on Thursday suspended the prison sentence of a man convicted of robbery and conspiracy to commit a felony, ruling that the court of first instance had not adequately considered his personal circumstances. The prison terms remain in place but have been suspended for three years from the date of the original ruling.
Case details
The man pleaded guilty to robbing a complainant of €60 using force and to conspiracy related to drug trafficking.
The criminal court had sentenced him to 18 months in prison for robbery and nine months for conspiracy.
Incident and appeal
According to the case, the appellant and another man met the complainant in connection with a small-scale drug transaction.
During the incident, the co-defendant assaulted the complainant, stole money and caused injuries, while the appellant left the scene with him.
The appeal concerned only the refusal to suspend the sentence.
Court ruling
The defence referred to the appellant’s clean criminal record, remorse, cooperation with the authorities, family difficulties and serious health problems.
The appeal court found that, although the lower court had taken mitigating factors into account, it had not properly balanced them against the circumstances of the case.
The judges said the appellant had not played a leading role, there was no evidence of organised planning on his part, and he had not reoffended in the period since the incident.