Michaelides trial postponed again

By Sinead Kelly

Former interior minister Dinos Michaelides and his son Michalis’ trial in Greece was adjourned yesterday for the third time in two months.

According to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), the trial was adjourned this time because defence lawyers protested the fact that their clients were appointed a lawyer by court order a week ago, after it became known that their own lawyers couldn’t follow the court’s schedule because it interfered with other clients’ cases.

Michaelides’ lawyers argued before court that it would be impossible for court-appointed lawyers to properly defend their clients, because they would have to go through a “staggering amount of case-related documents.”

The next hearing has been set for July 10.

The list of defendants also include Fouad al-Zayat, who is being tried in absentia.

Greek authorities have issued an international arrest warrant for al-Zayat who is thought to have facilitated the purchase of Russian-made Tor-M1 anti-aircraft missiles by Greece.

Al-Zayat is accused of channelling a $10 million kickback to former Greek defence minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos through Michaelides.

Michaelides is facing charges related to money laundering.

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.