Yesterday’s hearing in the case against Phedon Phedonos, the suspended Paphos mayor charged with rape, was accompanied by a pretrial application raised by his defence.
Through his lawyers, Phedonos had, since last week, set in motion a procedure for the complainant in the case to be assessed by a psychiatrist of his choosing. This application was submitted yesterday, as we understand, before the Paphos Criminal Court.
It is evident that this legal move by Phedonos relates to the assessment already carried out on the complainant by a government psychiatrist as part of the investigative process, before the case was filed.
With this development, the defence is seeking to challenge the government doctor’s assessment and, by extension, the complainant’s statement.
The court’s ruling on the matter has not yet been made known. Legal sources say, however, that there is case law on the issue raised.
The hearing process began yesterday, with reports indicating that a police officer, a member of the investigative team, gave sworn testimony. Sworn statements will follow from other people who gave crucial evidence in the case.
A reliable source told us that the process is getting into difficult territory early on. At hearings scheduled for today and the coming days, the testimony of individuals who, by virtue of their position, gave evidence considered significant at the investigative stage will come under close scrutiny.
Hearings have been scheduled until Friday, 31 July. The trial will resume in September.
Reports suggest that the witness list on the indictment includes around 30 people.
Yesterday’s proceeding lasted more than four hours.
The prosecution is represented by senior counsel of the Republic, Michaela Pasiardi. The case had, until the previous hearing at which the indictment was read, been handled by the Paphos Law Office, specifically prosecutor Eirini Savva.
The three-member Criminal Court panel is made up of Lia Markou (President of the District Court), Theodoros Symeonidis (District Judge) and Maria Sokratous (District Judge).
The charges
The five charges against Phedonos, to which he has pleaded not guilty, concern rape, indecent assault (two counts), administering a substance capable of causing stupefaction with intent to commit a felony or misdemeanour, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The offences facing the suspended mayor are considered very serious. The first three charges carry a potential sentence of life imprisonment upon conviction.
The description of the offence of administering a stupefying substance, as set out in the Criminal Code, is illustrative: “Any person who, with intent to commit or facilitate the commission of a felony or misdemeanour, or to facilitate the escape of the offender after the commission or attempted commission of a felony or misdemeanour, administers or attempts to administer to any person any drug or thing capable of stupefying or overpowering that person’s power of resistance, is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for life.”
Case background
Phedonos was suspended from the mayoralty of Paphos in February 2026 after Paphos land developer Theodoros Aristodemou publicly accused him of raping a woman around ten years earlier and gave a statement to police. The alleged incident is said to have taken place in 2014.
Following an investigation by a specially constituted team that took more than 20 statements — including from individuals who held public office at the time — Phedonos was indicted on four charges: rape, indecent assault, administering a substance to stupefy with intent to commit a felony or misdemeanour, and assault causing actual bodily harm.
The suspended mayor faced a separate investigation into an allegation of assault against his wife, which was launched ex officio following social media posts by social media personality ‘Annie Alexoui’. His wife had requested that the investigation into the alleged violence be discontinued.
