A 74-year-old man accused of large-scale misappropriation of Greek Cypriot properties in the occupied areas will change his plea to guilty, his defence lawyer told Nicosia’s Criminal Court on Monday.
Shimon Mistriel Aykut had previously entered a not guilty plea to the charges.
Defence lawyer Maria Neofytou told the court the hearing would not continue as planned. She said her client would change his plea and that some charges would be withdrawn.
Neofytou requested a 20-minute adjournment to finalise which charges would proceed. She said the defence was preparing “admissible facts” aimed at mitigating the sentence.
Vasilis Bissas, representing the prosecution on behalf of Andreas Aristeidis who is handling the case, confirmed the defence’s statement to the court.
The Criminal Court suspended proceedings temporarily, with the hearing set to resume at approximately 10:00.
Under the arrangement, Aykut will admit to certain charges for which he will be sentenced, whilst a number of other charges will be withdrawn.
Shimon Mistriel Aykut is a Turkish-Israeli property developer and the founder of the Afik Group, an international construction company established in 1995. He holds Turkish, Israeli, and Portuguese passports.
Aykut’s arrest relates to activities in the occupied north where he allegedly conducted unauthorised property development and exploitation. The charges stem from Republic of Cyprus laws regarding property rights of displaced Greek Cypriots following the 1974 invasion.
The Turkish Cypriot leadership, including Ersin Tatar, frame the detention as targeting the community’s economic interests.
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