Third inquiry into Nicolaou’s death drawing to a close

A third inquiry into the death of national guardsman Thanasis Nicolaou is coming to an end on Thursday, while a date is expected to be set for the coroner’s decision.

The national guardsman was found dead under the Alassa Bridge on September 29, 2005.

At the close of previous proceedings, the coroner had requested for the two sides to present their arguments in writing, which she will examine before announcing her decision.

According to the Cyprus News Agency, during Thursday’s proceedings at 11.30am, representatives of the Pancyprian Committee of Mothers – Relatives of the National Guard (Pemse) will be present to express support to the Nicolaou family.

At the start of the third inquest, last October, the two sides had decided to continue the process from where it had stopped, that is, on the basis of the new information brought to light following exhumation and examination of Nicolaou’s bones in 2020, which led to the conclusion that his death was due to a criminal act and not a suicide, as the coroner Panicos Stavrianos had ruled at the time.

During a highly charged hearing in February, the Limassol district court former investigator Savvas Matsas said there was an ongoing conspiracy to cover-up Nicolaou’s murder.

Despite the judge’s intention for a speedy process, which would be completed before the end of 2023, this was not possible, as new requests and objections constantly arose between the legal service and the family’s lawyers.

Previously, the court rejected the request of medical examiner Stavrianos to attend the proceedings as an interested party, while subsequently he was excluded as a witness, after an objection from the family’s lawyers to the legal service’s request to submit a new forensic report.

Elsewhere the coroner had rejected a request by the legal service for testimony from pathologist Dr. Andreas Marnerides and, on behalf of the family’s lawyers, medical examiner Elpida Spanoudakis, as they had no previous involvement in the case.