Lawyer Efstathios Efstathiou has objected to participating in the ecclesiastical trial against two monks, his clients, involved in the Osiou Avakoum monastery scandal, it emerged on Thursday.

Efstathiou, who is defending the monks, previously described the trial at the Holy Synod Court as a “parody.” In a letter sent later in the day, he informed the six-member Holy Synod Court that “for reasons of professional order and self-respect, we have resigned as advocates in this case.” He added that the legal team considers the pre-trial procedure that was followed, as well as the upcoming proceedings, to be “far from a serious and fair trial.”

As a result, the entire trial, scheduled to begin at the church court on Friday, will likely have to be postponed. The monks are expected to request time to find another defence attorney, as the archbishopric has denied their other lawyer, Anastasios Vavouskos, permission to represent them. According to reports, the head of the Holy Synod Court informed Vavouskos that he does not recognise him as the defence counsel for the monks.

A report by website Reporter noted that on Wednesday, August 29, 2024, Vavouskos sent a new letter to the head of the church court. Attached to this letter was a reply to an earlier communication, in which the synod had recognized him as a lawyer, raising questions about what had suddenly changed.

Despite withdrawing from the ecclesiastical trial, Efstathiou continues to represent the monks in their civil proceedings, which are set to begin on September 27.

Earlier, Efstathiou told national broadcaster CyBC that the church trial will take place before a six-member ecclesiastical court, and that the entire process “suffers from violations of basic legal principles.” The church is seeking to defrock the monks, Archimandrites Nektarios and Porfyrios, on charges including immoral relationships, embezzlement of church funds, concealment of church property (by keeping €806,600 in a safe) and conspiracy to commit church offences.

Efstathiou said that the defence team had the indictment in front of them, and it included 10 charges against the monks.

However, he said, the defence did not have the “conclusion of the investigative committee”.

“This demonstrates that this procedure violates basic legal principles,” he said, as it deprives his clients’ right to know exactly all the evidence collected by the team investigating the case.

As Efstathiou explained, knowing the evidence is stipulated in the European convention of human rights and the constitution, as well as in the church’s charter which refers to articles of the constitution.

Another defect of the procedure, as he said, is the fact that his clients have been “deprived of the right” to attend the court with the lawyers of their choice, referring essentially to the issue of the prohibition of participation in the procedure of his colleague, Vavouskos.

Efstathiou estimated that on Friday a trial will begin which will be concluded “with summary proceedings” and with a “predetermined end”, while what justice demands is that these people should receive “a fair trial”.

In relation to the procedure, Efstathiou said that it is similar to the procedure followed in civil courts, while he added that they would have put before the Church Court issues such as the fact that they have not been given “witness material”.

The defence had repeatedly called for the charges to be dropped against their clients, saying that Isaias had already punished them for the crimes and calling Varnavas unreliable as a witness.

Civil proceedings are also ongoing against the monks involved in the scandal.

The two monks face a total of 19 charges including: conspiracy to commit fraud, unlawful possession of property, theft by proxy, money laundering, false tax declaration and an act likely to influence a police investigation.

Police are also investigating alleged crimes by the Bishop of Tamassos Isaias, who had alerted the church to the scandal and is alleged to have brought close to 30 men and 10 hooded figures to remove the monks from the monastery forcibly.