Complainant concludes testimony in suspended Paphos mayor’s trial

Paphos, Cyprus. The complainant concluded her evidence on Friday in the trial of Phedonas Phedonos, the suspended Paphos mayor, following two days of testimony heard in private. The next hearing at Paphos criminal court is scheduled for next Tuesday.

Witness arrangements

While the complainant gave evidence in the courtroom, Phedonos stayed in an adjoining room outside the premises.

A prosecution witness’s planned appearance will not go ahead because he has been hospitalised with health problems at a private facility in Nicosia. Judges are expected to consider the possibility of taking his evidence from the hospital.

Charges and allegations

Phedonos has entered not-guilty pleas to five charges: rape; indecent assault on a woman; a further indecent-assault count; assault resulting in actual bodily harm; and administering a substance capable of causing intoxication or neutralising another person’s resistance.

The case emerged earlier this year following allegations from Theodoros Aristodemou, a Paphos property developer involved in longstanding legal disputes with the municipality.

Aristodemou alleged that the offences occurred more than a decade ago, around 2014. The legal service subsequently examined the police file and approved prosecution.

Phedonos has described the allegations as an “orchestrated attack” and a “political assassination”.