British father seeks suspension of prosecution over son’s death at Paphos hotel

Paphos, Cyprus. A British father charged following the death of his three-year-old son at a Paphos hotel has submitted a request to the attorney-general to suspend the criminal proceedings against him, his lawyer said on Wednesday.

The 37-year-old, who was permitted to return to the United Kingdom for his son’s funeral, is required to return to Cyprus by September 14.

Request to suspend proceedings

Defence lawyer Alexandros Alexandrou said a formal request had been filed with the attorney-general seeking the suspension of the prosecution.

The case is scheduled to return to Paphos district court on September 17, when the father had been expected to enter a plea.

Alexandrou said the defence would not respond to the charges if it had not received a reply from the attorney-general by that date.

“We are waiting to answer to the charges. If we do not have an answer from the attorney-general, we will not answer to the charges until the attorney-general responds to us,” he said.

Return to Cyprus

Asked what would happen if the father did not return, Alexandrou said a European arrest warrant would be sought. He added that there was “no possibility” of his client failing to return.

The funeral of the three-year-old has taken place in the United Kingdom. Alexandrou said the family was going through a difficult time and that the father’s young daughter wanted him close to her.

Bail conditions

Paphos district court granted the father permission on August 3 to travel to the United Kingdom after he deposited an additional €10,000 cash guarantee.

Under the court order, he must return to Cyprus by September 14. His previous restrictive measures will resume the following day, including a €20,000 financial guarantee, the surrender of his travel documents and weekly reporting to Paphos police.