Helios appeal filed

THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL yesterday lodged an appeal against Nicosia Criminal Court’s dismissal of all charges against the five defendants in the Helios trial. 

Four individuals and the now-defunct Helios Airways were charged with manslaughter and reckless endangerment following the Helios Boeing 737 crash in 2005, which killed all 121 people on board. 

The court decision angered the victims’ relatives who accused the Attorney-general’s office of messing up the case. 

Attorney-general Petros Clerides said soon after the court ruling that he was “completely satisfied and at peace with (his) conscience” but added that an “appeal is justified”. 

The  relatives claimed that the way the indictments were composed, they stood little chance when scrutinised in court.  

Clerides has said that the law prohibits presenting new data in an appeal, adding that if the appeal were successful it would lead to a re-trial and not a conviction because the case had been dismissed on a prima facie basis. 

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