Attempted murder suspect falls asleep in court

THE NICOSIA District Court adjourned the trial of a 58-year-old man charged with attempted murder after he fell asleep during his hearing on Friday morning.

Mansur Jawad, was arrested on April 24, for conspiring to murder 19-year-old Lisel Perez from the Dominican Republic.

The Syrian national’s arrest came after dramatic scenes on the Nicosia highway. Police said the young woman, who was sitting in the passenger seat, felt threatened and reached for her phone to make a call. There was a scuffle and Jawad lost control of the car, crashing into a truck. Jawad then allegedly stabbed Perez in the face, minutes after they crashed just off the Nicosia-Limassol highway.

Jawad was appearing in court with another suspect, 28-year-old Mohammed Assad, also from Syria. Assad was in the back seat of the car and is facing charges of conspiracy to kidnap and conspiracy to commit premeditated murder.

When taking the stand, Jawad presented judge Michalis Ambizas with a document saying he was unable to follow the procedure because he had taken two Valium pills and another sedative. The judge told Jawad that the proceeding would only last a few minutes and told him to sit.

After the charges were heard, the judge asked the defendants how they pleaded, only to find Jawad fast asleep on the bench. The judge asked Jawad to wake up but the defendant failed to respond.

When he finally opened his eyes, Ambizas asked him to stand up but Jawad went back to sleep. The judge asked him if he was listening and Jawad answered “no”.

The Court decided to suspend the proceedings and postpone the hearing for Monday before the case is referred to the Criminal Court.

According to the court, Perez had been placed in the witness protection programme in relation to a human trafficking case.

Jawad was only recently released from prison two years ago after serving six years of a 12-year sentence for the murder of a woman in Nicosia in 2001.