Presiding judge steps down from Nicolaou death inquest

In another development of the case of 26-year-old National Guard soldier Thanasis Nicolaou, whose lifeless body was discovered under the Alassa bridge in 2005, the presiding judge of the Limassol district court Aphrodite Parparinou has decided to exempt herself from the death inquest.

Nicolaou’s family previously requested the exemption of the judge during a previous trial. Their reason for the request was that she had served in the legal service and had knowledge of “individuals and circumstances” pertaining to the case.

Parparinou on Friday rejected the family’s attorney’s argument of a lack of genuine impartiality due to her previous service in the legal service.

Nevertheless, she conceded the fact that on two separate occasions at the beginning of the trial, she appeared before the court representing the Republic of Cyprus, stepping in for a colleague who was handling the lawsuit at the time.

Final decisions regarding the appointment of a new judge for the case are expected to be made by the administrative president of the Limassol district court.

Earlier this year, the legal service said there were not enough grounds to open a criminal case into Nicolaou’s death.

Nicolaou’s mother’s request to reopen the case of her son’s death was corroborated by a report filed by criminal investigator Antonis Alexopoulous, which suggested that at least three police officers and a forensic pathologist could have been involved in covering up the incident.

However, the legal service reviewed the report and decided not to proceed with a formal reopening of the case.

Though the guardsman’s death was originally ruled as a suicide, his mother Andriana has always maintained it was a murder coverup during his time carrying out military service as a conscript. She has always pointed to evidence she states was deliberately ignored by authorities.

Last July, Nicolaou’s mother eventually filed a private lawsuit against the police officers and a forensic pathologist who carried out the autopsy on her son.

The charges in the lawsuit centred on what the family called a negligent investigation and breach of official duty.

Their allegations are based on the findings of investigators Savvas Matsas and Alexopoulous. The former was dismissed by the attorney general after he revealed details of the third investigation to the media.

He alluded to a cover-up, saying original evidence was ignored after Nicolaou was found dead.