NICOSIA lawyers were up in arms yesterday, refusing to appear in court between 11am to 4pm, after the Limassol Criminal Court put a lawyer behind bars for five days for contempt of court.
Former state prosecutor and DIKO member Michalakis Kyprianou was jailed on Wednesday for remarks made to the judges during the murder trial of British tourist Graham Mills.
Kyprianou had accused the judges of exchanging ‘ravasakia’, which was interpreted by the court as meaning ‘love letters’.
The court even resorted to a dictionary to determine the exact meaning of the word used by Kyprianou.
But Kyprianou’s colleagues yesterday questioned the interpretation of the word, and five of them lodged an appeal with the Supreme Court against the court’s decision.
One of the five, Christos Clerides, said he too had looked up ravasakia in the dictionary, and that, apart from love letters, the word could also refer to letters, messages, and notes.
The appeal, which will be examined this morning at 10, is based on 13 points, most of which concern technicalities and procedural issues.
The incident happened when the Presiding Judge intervened during cross-examination to point out to Kyprianou that his line of questioning was inappropriate.
But Kyprianou started shouting, interrupting the Presiding Judge, who was trying to complete the court’s argument.
Kyprianou: “Since the court judged that I’m not doing my job properly, then I ask for permission to drop this case.”
The court did not allow Kyprianou to leave, but he insisted that since he had been obstructed from going on with his questions, his presence did not serve any purpose.
Kyprianou then added: “I’m sorry, but while I was cross-examining, the judges were sending love letters (ravasakia) to each other, effectively hindering my work.”
The court said Kyprianou’s attitude was perceived as contempt, giving him two choices.
To stick to what he said, and answer for it before the court, or to take it back.
“You can go ahead and try me,” Kyprianou said.
The court decided by majority vote to jail Kyprianou for five days.
In its decision, the court said Kyprianou’s attitude was unacceptable, adding that it was no exaggeration to say that he was raving and gesticulating at the judges.
The court said Kyprianou was twice given the chance to apologise, but he continued in the same manner, saying: “You can try me.”
The decision added that Kyprianou had accused the court, which was trying to regulate procedure, of operating in a secret manner and obstructing him.
“It is impossible to think of any other occasion of such blatant and unacceptable contemptuous behaviour towards a court by an individual, especially a lawyer,” the ruling said.
Lawyers in Nicosia stopped work in support of their colleague, between 11am until 4pm, marching on the nearby prison where Kyprianou is being held.
The lawyers argue that if Kyprianou was suspected of contempt, he should have been tried by a different court.
Deputies at the House of Representatives seemed to agree with that argument, announcing yesterday after a meeting of the Legal Affairs Committee that they would push for a change in the law so that the same court would not be able to try a lawyer in such a case.
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