Part of the document giving consent to inspect a German real estate agent’s luggage had been forged, her defence lawyer told the court on Friday, accusing police of attempting to prove she understood English to justify the search.

The defendant faces 44 charges related to the alleged usurpation of Greek Cypriot property in the north.

This was the second day of a trial-within-a-trial, requested by defence lawyer Soteris Argyrou, who is challenging the legality of the woman’s arrest, the investigation, and the examination of her electronic devices without a warrant.

Argyrou argued that his client does not speak sufficient English, that an interpreter was not called in time, and that she was denied the right to make a phone call.

Furthermore, the defence lawyer questioned whether his client had written a specific phrase in English on the consent form and called for the document to be examined by a specialist graphologist.

The proceedings began with the prosecution questioning the police officer who had gone to Larnaca airport on July 7, 2024, to pick up the defendant and take her to a police station, where she would remain in custody until the next day when she would appear in court.

The officer said she had received the suspect from another police officer, along with confiscated items, which included three mobile phones, an external hard disc, a tablet, a laptop, a laptop case and a white folder.

The witness said she spoke with the defendant at the airport in English.

The officer said the defendant wrote her name, country of origin, passport number and date, as well as the phrase “my travel luggage” in English and in brackets the same phrase in German and then signed the document.

An interpreter was reportedly used over the phone to translate between Greek and German, the officer added.

The police officer also presented evidence, including the defendant’s passport, credit cards and notes, as well as a folder with photographs of property and adverts.

The defence lawyer said the document had been forged and that the defendant had not written “my travel luggage” as she did not speak English.

He also said the charges had not been translated in German to his client through the interpreter over the phone and that the charges were not listed in detail but were presented as “conspiracy etc”.

He claimed the call with the interpreter lasted less than five minutes and that the interpreter told the defendant to sign the document in order to be released.

Following a brief recess, a second witness took the stand – a police officer from passport control who was present at the time of the arrest and had inspected the defendant’s belongings.

She said that the defendant’s rights were read to her in German by a colleague, after which the defendant signed the relevant document. The officer also testified that she had spoken to the defendant in English, saying: “You sell our grandmothers’ property in the occupied side,” to which the defendant allegedly responded, “I didn’t know the situation, I am sorry about that.”

The defendant interrupted the court at this point, crying out, “What?”

The officer added that the defendant never asked for an interpreter or to make a phone call, and therefore was not denied one.

During cross-examination, she stated that the defendant had been cooperative throughout her interaction with police.

However, the defence lawyer maintained that his client had tried to make a phone call, but her phone was forcibly taken and she was shouted at. The witness denied this claim.

The hearing will continue on April 11 at 9.30am and again on April 16 at 10.30am, with additional testimony from prosecution witnesses.

In the meantime, the court ordered the contested document to be examined for signs of forgery by an expert, in the presence of the court logger.