The Criminal Court on Tuesday allowed the prosecution to add a new witness in the trial over thousands of state documents that went missing from the Central Prisons. It then adjourned his testimony after a defence lawyer said the first defendant’s counsel was at a press conference.
The witness is a police officer who is to present exhibits found at the home of the chief prison warder. The prosecution, represented by Senior Counsel of the Republic Vasilis Bissas, had argued that his testimony would be a formality and would not take the defence by surprise.
Defence lawyers for the eight defendants had objected at the previous hearing. They questioned the relevance of the testimony, noted that the officer had no previous involvement in the case, and complained that his written statement was handed over only on the morning of 29 October, before the scheduled hearing. They also raised concerns about their ability to cross-examine him effectively and about the defendants’ right to a fair trial.
Judge Christiana Parpotta said the defence must be given enough time to prepare so as not to be caught off guard. She said the continual addition of witnesses was generally undesirable, and that approving such a request was at the court’s discretion.
The court found that the defence had been told on 15 October of the prosecution’s intention to add a witness, and on 22 October of his name and the nature of his evidence. It ruled that the defence had been adequately informed and that no adverse effect on the defendants’ rights had been established, and approved the request.
After the ruling, Bissas said he would call the officer as the first prosecution witness. Another defence lawyer then asked for an adjournment, saying that Christos Triantafyllides, counsel for the first defendant, Anna Aristotelous, was at a press conference. Bissas said the prosecution was ready to proceed but did not object, leaving the matter to the court.
The court granted the adjournment under the circumstances. It noted that its schedule for the day had been arranged so that all its time could be devoted to this case, which the judge described as large because of the number of witnesses.
“We expect all counsel to arrange their schedules,” Parpotta said. She also expressed concern about the time remaining before the current bench’s term ends.
