Three arrested on suspicion of perverting justice

A STATE prosecutor and two attorneys were yesterday placed under arrest on suspicion of conspiring to pervert the course of justice.

The three suspects, aged 62, 35 and 34, all from Limassol, appear in court today where CID detectives will ask that they be remanded in custody until they complete investigations.

The case relates to a lethal hit-and-run in Limassol that took place in December 2007. The subsequent trial cleared the 18-year-old defendant of the charge of causing death through a negligent act.

The Attorney-general’s office later appealed the ruling with the Supreme Court. During the course of the appeal, the AG’s office discovered discrepancies in the trial documents and ordered a criminal investigation.

According to police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos, the investigation found that the copy of the testimony of a prosecution witness that was in the possession of the state prosecutor was different to that held by the defendant’s attorneys. The prosecutor’s copy was also not identical to the original testimony filed as evidence to the court.

As such, the three suspects are being investigated for conspiring to pervert the course of justice, falsifying evidence, abuse of power, dereliction of duty and corruption of a public official.

Katsounotos declined to comment further on the nature of the information that was allegedly falsified on the testimony.

The alleged offences were committed from June 2008 to the present day, he said.

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