The court of appeals has dismissed an appeal filed by a man who was fined €1,350 for wearing a face mask below his chin during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The man was caught by the police walking up Nicosia’s central Stasikratous Street on December 29, 2020, with his mask below his face, and smoking a cigarette. He was eventually convicted of the crime in 2022.

He had appealed the ruling, saying the mask mandate of the day was issued “in excess of authority” and “devoid of legal effect”. He had also claimed the fine was “manifestly excessive”.

The court of appeal rejected his appeal on all grounds, saying, “the appellant assumes that since he was smoking at the time of the disputed complaint, it was reasonable for him to have his mask down below his face”, but that “his version of events about smoking was not accepted by the court of first instance”.

“With the rejection of the appellant’s version of events, the entire argument collapses,” he said.

It also sought to dispel any notions that there was a violation of the presumption of innocence, saying, “with all due respect, it lacks any basis”.

“The presumption of innocence is interrelated with the principle of the burden of proof. The observations of the court of first instance in this regard relate to its judgment on the credibility of the police,” it said.