Nicosia, Cyprus. The former nursery school teacher of 14-year-old Stylianos Constantinou, who died by suicide in September 2019, broke down in tears on Wednesday during lengthy and at times intense cross-examination before the Nicosia district court. She completed her testimony after defence lawyers challenged the credibility of her evidence and her account of disclosures she said Stylianos had made to her during the 2008-2009 school year.
Cross-examination in court
During the hearing, defence lawyers repeatedly referred to photographs taken in Stylianos’ classroom, arguing that they did not support the picture the witness had painted of the child’s condition during his early school years.
The witness was also questioned about the obligations of teachers to report suspected child abuse and why, despite her concerns at the time, no report had been made to the authorities.
Reporting obligations challenged
Counsel for Stylianos’ father, Constantinos Kazantzis, returned repeatedly to the issue, putting it to the witness that if she believed the child was being subjected to violence, she had a duty to notify the police.
The witness acknowledged that she was in her first year as a teacher at the time and lacked the experience and knowledge she has today.
“If I were faced with the same situation now, I would report it immediately,” she told the court.
Dispute over photographs and procedures
Defence lawyers also raised the issue of the interdepartmental procedures manual on domestic violence, arguing that the teacher should have been aware of the relevant provisions. The witness responded that she had not known of the manual at the time.
Questioned about photographs showing Stylianos with his classmates, the defence argued that there was no obvious difference in his appearance or clothing compared with the other children. The witness replied that the photographs had been taken on school picture day and insisted that, in her daily experience of teaching him, he frequently arrived wearing the same clothes, which were often dirty.
“I came here to say what I lived through,” she told the court.
