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The ongoing trial at the Nicosia courtroom about the ‘golden passports’ took a new transform on Wednesday that led to an additional postponement until March 8, this time in excess of the composition of the courtroom.
The defendants are former Home president Demetris Syllouris, former Akel MP and developer Christakis Giovani, senior lawyer for the Giovani Group Antonis Antoniou, and lawyer Andreas Pittadjis.
The trial proceedings are dependent on the results of the Nicolatos investigation into the citizenship-by-investment scheme, prompted by the airing of a report by the Al Jazeera network in 2020.
The defendants deal with five charges, such as conspiracy to defraud the Republic and influencing a public official in violation of the laws criminalising corruption.
Even though the proceedings bought underway previous October, to day just one particular defendant – Pittadjis – has entered a plea, obtaining pleaded not responsible. The rest of the defendants have nonetheless to do so, as their attorneys insist the pre-trial objections be heard initial.
This time the adjournment request came from the prosecution who explained all of the defendants wanted to be in court docket. Only 3 of the defence attorneys were being in court docket on Wednesday.
All through the previous hearing on January 30, the choose hinted that the court docket might not be correct to adjudge the scenario. Its term of business office will expire at the conclusion of June.
Through Wednesday’s listening to, the prosecution, represented by deputy lawyer-general Savvas Angelides mentioned just before taking a stand on the merits or demerits of the pre-trial defence arguments, he viewed as it needed to increase an problem “for which earlier there have been only indications but now is a fact” and that legally it necessary to be presented to all of the defendants.
He stated the recent composition of the court docket would not go further than June 30 as the president of the present legal courtroom would be appointed as president of the newly established appeals court docket, which is owing to commence operate on July 1. Angelides explained all of the defendants needed to look at the next listening to “for acknowledgment of this”.
The defence lawyers agreed to the adjournment for March 8.
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