YESTERDAY’S majority verdict by the criminal court to acquit all five defendants of the Helios trial was met by growing disbelief and grief by most of the victims’ relatives, who had packed the court room in Nicosia.
Approximately 50 relatives – all dressed in black – gathered outside the court from 7.30am and flocked the courtroom at around 9am when they were allowed in.
Once the verdict was announced by court chairman Haris Solomonides, the relatives started cheering and clapping sarcastically, shouting “Bravo!” and “well done.”
The relatives rushed up from their seats and tried to approach the judges but were stopped by the police officers, as they yelled “Disgrace!” and “you should be ashamed of yourselves.”
Senior District Judge Nicholas Santis, who had actually voted against the acquittal, demanded that the relatives show respect for the courtroom and allow him to explain his reasoning for his choice of voting.
The two hours that followed were coupled by the constant wailing and weeping of several of the victims’ relatives.
After the trial, the relatives gathered in the parking area and tried to come to terms with the decision.
“They murdered our children, deprived us of our joy in life and now they are killing us as well” said an black-clad father of one victim.
“121 people killed, and the judges decided that no one is as fault!” said Froso Leonidou, a wife of a victim.
“Someone killed them, someone is responsible and yet we are told we should go home and accept this verdict,” she said.
Some relatives of the victims followed the defence lawyers outside the courtroom and continued to shout at them.
One grieving mother, with her eyes fixed firmly to the sky was calling out to her dead daughter, yelling how she was fortunate not to be alive to hear the “treacherous verdict.”
”Unfortunately, our fears have been confirmed through the process as it has evolved,” said the president of the Relatives’ Committee, Nicolas Yiasoumis.
“We did not believe they could be convicted on the basis of the argument that they had not employed the appropriate staff and we feel aggrieved because the state prosecutor handled our case very poorly.”
The relatives argued that the state prosecutor had made a major mistake by not including the findings of the report by former judge Panayiotis Kallis.
The 2006 Kallis report included an in-depth enquiry of the air crash and while portions of the report concerning civilian responsibilities have been published, most of the report has not.
“The charges brought before the Court by the state prosecutor were different than the findings of the Kallis report, and we demand that the report is publicised immediately, so we can finally conduct a proper case prosecution,” said Yiasoumis.
The Attorney General, Petros Clerides said that his office would evaluate the criminal court’s verdict and did not rule out a possible appeal.
“Unless the Kallis report is published, then an appeal will definitely have the same result,” said Yiasoumis.
