A request was submitted on Wednesday at the Nicosia criminal court to change the conditions in which Israeli property developer Simon Aykut, accused of developing and selling property on Greek Cypriot land in the north, is being held, after which the defendant’s health would be finally examined.

Defence attorney Christos Triantafyllides told the court that they were requesting specialised examinations of the defendant to determine whether he suffered from prostate cancer.

The prosecution did not object to the request.

Then the prosecution asked for a postponement, as it was unable to present new witnesses, to which the defence did not object.

Judge Christiana Parpotta said the court would adjourn till July 24 at 9.15am to examine the defence’s request regarding the detention conditions and set the continuation of proceedings for July 29 at 9.15am.

She furthermore expressed concern over the large number of witnesses to be summoned and said it was “disturbing that trials are postponed due to a lack of witnesses”.

Aykut is charged with the development and sale of €43 million worth of property on Greek Cypriot land in the north. He had been arrested in June last year while attempting to cross from the north to the Republic.

He is the founder of the Afik Group, which has carried out various construction projects in the Trikomo area, many of which are believed to be on Greek Cypriot-owned land.