Cyprus AG appeals court ruling on “Helios”

The Attorney General of Cyprus, Petros Clerides, has filed an appeal to the Supreme Court against the Assize Court's majority ruling to acquit the five defendants over a fatal air crash in 2005 in which 121 persons died.
The Cyprus News Agency said the appeal is based on two areas, that the majority ruling was wrong to decide that the inclusion of the date of the accident in the indictment created problems and that the majority erroneously proceeded to evaluate part of the testimony presented, claiming instead that no testimony should have been evaluated at that stage of the process.
The Attorney–General’s office is also due to submit an application for a speedy process although it remains in the discretion of the Supreme Court to decide upon the matter.
The Court had ruled on December 21 by majority (two to one) that there was no sufficient evidence linking the defendants to the air crash and as such, they bear no responsibility for the crash.
''I have read the ruling of the majority as well as that the minority and I have received the views of the prosecutors who handled the case and we have unanimously concluded that an appeal against the majority ruling is justified,'' Clerides had said the day after the ruling, noting that the existence of a dissenting opinion justifies his view than an appeal should be filed.