Nicosia, Cyprus. The criminal court on Tuesday dismissed a motion to declare a mistrial in the case of Giorgos Christodoulou, also known as “Zavrantonas,” who faces charges of importing 15kg of cocaine. The court said it will rule by the next hearing, scheduled for June 16, on whether the defendant’s lawyers should have access to three documents related to the main prosecution witness.
Witness documents
The prosecution witness is Yiannis Andreou, also known as “Maronas.” He was initially sentenced to 16 years in prison in the same case, and after serving four years he was granted a presidential pardon.
In court on Tuesday, the defence said Andreou’s release from jail had been conditional on his leaving Cyprus. The defence wants access to the documents concerning Andreou, saying they suspect he may have been offered inducements to become a state witness.
Retrial decision
Christodoulou was originally sentenced in December 2022 to 22 years in prison, but the conviction was later overturned by the appeals court, which ordered the case to be retried from the beginning.
Christos Poutziouris, the lead lawyer for Christodoulou, also argued that the case should be declared a mistrial and re-filed. The criminal court rejected the motion, citing the appeals court’s explicit decision for a retrial rather than the case being filed again from scratch.
The court said it has jurisdiction to hear the case.
