Months after videos emerged showing Protaras’ Nava nightclub packed with people partying in violation of the coronavirus measures, Famagusta district court on Monday imposed fines on the two managers running the club and the company that owns it.
The two managers were fined €2,400 and €4,800 respectively after being found guilty of nine charges each. The company was fined €7,200 after nine charges.
On June 9, after the Kataklysmos long weekend saw Nava full of people partying, Famagusta district court ordered the bar to suspend operations for a week.
Police spokesman Christos Andreou said at the time that the owners “continued to repeatedly display blatant negligence and disobedience to the decrees surrounding quarantine law.”
The owners were reportedly warned five times over the weekend for breaking health and safety rules, before police temporarily shut down the establishment.
In its verdict on Monday, the Famagusta district court said that “the fact that the managers kept operating in complete disregard of the health and safety rules is a clear indication of their indifference to the measures put in place against coronavirus, which constitutes a criminal offence and needs to be punished with severe fines that serve as a deterrent.”
The court added that it fined the two Nava managers with different sums because of their distinct operational role at the club.
According to the final verdict, the manager who was fined €2,400 “was simply an employee of the operating company,” whereas the other manager, who was fined €4,800 “was the director in charge of the club’s operations and the representative of the club’s proprietors.”
The case against Nava started on June 24 but the verdict was only handed down today after being postponed twice, from October 9 to November 6 and from November 6 to December 7.
Apart from breaking health and safety protocols, during the inspections carried out by the authorities at Nava on June 9, the nightclub was also found to be operating without the required licence, which has since then been renewed.
The first defendant was fined €100 for each of the four charges related to operating without a licence and €400 for each of the five charges related to breaking health and safety measures, for a total of €2400.
On the other hand, due to his increased responsibility at the club, the second guilty person was fined €200 for each of the four charges related to operating without a licence and €800 for each of the five charges related to breaking health and safety measures, for a total of €4800.
Finally, the operating company owning Nava was fined €300 for each of the four charges related to operating without a licence and €1,200 for each of the five charges related to breaking health and safety measures, for a total of €7,200.
