Nicosia, Cyprus. Savvas Matsas, the lawyer of the family of conscript Thanasis Nicolaou, said he will withdraw from his role as a prosecutor in the trial of five people over an alleged coverup surrounding Nicolaou’s 2005 death so he can appear as a witness.
Matsas withdraws and prosecution changes hands
Matsas announced his decision during Thursday’s hearing. The day’s hearing had initially been expected to address objections to his role as a prosecutor because he had previously served as an independent criminal investigator in the case.
Following his voluntary withdrawal, the planned proceedings were deemed unnecessary. Matsas said Christos Clerides’ law firm will take over the prosecution.
He said he made the decision because Antonis Alexopoulos, the criminal investigator alongside whom he had worked, does not wish to testify as he is a candidate to become a judge on the maritime court. Matsas also cited a second reason but said he did not wish to disclose it.
Postponement granted and deadlines set
Alexandros Clerides of Christos Clerides’ law firm requested a new postponement. Defence lawyers objected, saying they had arrived ready to present pre-trial objections and that these were not affected by Matsas’ withdrawal.
The court granted the postponement, setting the next hearing for March 13. It said all evidence must be handed over by the prosecution to the defence by March 9 and warned that no further postponements would be granted.
Background and defendants
Matsas had previously been removed from his role as independent criminal investigator by attorney-general George Savvides, who said the decision was taken because Matsas revealed details of his findings to the media.
The five defendants are former state pathologist Panicos Stavrianos, former Limassol police chief Angelos Iatropolos, former Limassol police crime detection unit chief Nicos Sophocleous, former head of rural police Christakis Nathanael, and former head of the police station in the Limassol district village of Lania, Christakis Kapiliotis.
Almost 40 charges have been filed against the five, most of which have been filed against Stavrianos, including conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, neglect of official duty, issuing a false certificate, perjury, destruction of evidence, and interference with judicial proceedings.
What do you expect will be the impact of Matsas testifying as a witness on the upcoming hearings?