Ex-Defence Minister Papacostas seeks pardon on medical grounds

FORMER defence minister Costas Papacostas who was hospitalised at Nicosia General on July 9, less than a month before being sentenced for his involvement in the Mari naval base explosion, has asked for a presidential pardon. Papacostas was sentenced to five years in jail on charges of manslaughter for his role in the July 11 blast in 2011, in which 13 sailors and firemen died.

In his letter to the Attorney-General, Papacostas’ lawyer Efstathios Efstathiou said that the former defence minister’s health is deteriorating fast, that he is suffering from liver failure and requires dialysis. Efstathiou also said that Papacostas’ cardio-respiratory system is under stress and that his mental state has worsened since the August sentencing. According to reports, the former defence minister is under psychiatric observation.

Included in the pardon request is a report from the medical council that confirms Papacostas’ deteriorating health, which, they say, that combined with his medical history and age put his life further at risk.

Despite his frail condition, if pardoned Papacostas will return home to his wife, Efstathiou told the Cyprus Mail.

“Unfortunately the former minister is very close to death and all he asks for is to spend his final moments with his loved ones and not be surrounded by nurses and a police guard,” he said.

The request will be studied by legal services as well as both the Attorney-general and the assistant Attorney-general before a suggestion is sent to President Anastasiades.

Papacostas and former disaster response squad (EMAK) commander Andreas Loizides, who was sentenced to two years in jail for his role in the blast, are due before the Supreme Court on Thursday to appeal their sentencing.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.