Paphos, Cyprus. The attorney-general is expected to decide on Friday whether to bring criminal proceedings against a 37-year-old British father remanded after his three-year-old son fell from a fourth-floor hotel window and died.
The father was remanded for eight days on Sunday on suspicion of causing death by a rash or negligent act and failing in his duty as head of a family and as a person responsible for another’s care.
Lawyer challenges continued detention
The father’s lawyer, Petros Stavrou, said there was no justification for keeping his client in custody while the investigation continued.
Stavrou said he had sent police a letter on Tuesday, October 14, requesting the man’s release. He said less restrictive measures could be imposed if authorities considered there to be a risk that the father could leave Cyprus, including the surrender of his passports, reporting to Paphos central police station at specified times and providing his residential address in Cyprus in writing.
Legal representation and psychological condition
Stavrou said his client appeared before the court without legal representation. Although he was offered the option of a lawyer as part of the procedure, the father was not in a condition to make such a decision, according to Stavrou.
The lawyer said the father was suffering severe psychological trauma and questioned the length of the remand order, while acknowledging that an investigation was required.
In his letter to police, Stavrou argued that continued detention was aggravating his client’s fragile psychological state following his son’s death.
Family’s immediate concern
Stavrou said the father’s immediate concern was to be released so that he and his wife could tell their five-year-old daughter that her younger brother had died.
The couple have so far told the girl that her brother is in hospital, according to the letter.
