The British father charged following the death of his three-year-old son at a Paphos hotel has returned to the UK after a Cyprus court lifted travel restrictions to allow him to attend the child’s funeral, his lawyer said on Friday.

Speaking to CyBC radio, defence lawyer Alexandros Alexandrou said his client had reunited with his family and was now preparing for his son’s funeral.

“He has already returned to his homeland,” Alexandrou said. “I spoke with him last night. He has reunited with his family and they are preparing for the burial of their young child.”

The father, 37, had been prevented from leaving Cyprus after being charged with negligent supervision following the child’s fatal fall from the fourth floor of a hotel in Paphos last month.

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Earlier this week, the Paphos District Court accepted a defence application to temporarily lift the travel ban, ordering the return of his passport after the prosecution did not oppose the request.

The court also required an additional €10,000 guarantee before allowing him to leave the island.

Under the court’s order, he must return to Cyprus by September 14 and remain available to the authorities throughout his stay.

The lawyer also welcomed the approach taken by both the court and the attorney-general’s office.

“Not everything is purely legal and not everything is a matter of the strict application of the law,” he said. “There is also a human aspect to every case, which both the court and the attorney-general’s office rightly recognised.”

Alexandrou said his client remains in an extremely fragile state following the tragedy.

“He is in a very bad emotional condition,” he said. “He cannot follow the court proceedings with clarity.”

He added that allowing the father to return home would also help ensure he could meaningfully participate in his defence upon his return to Cyprus.

“When he comes back, he will be able to give me the appropriate instructions, understand what we are doing, where we stand, what the consequences are and what procedures need to be followed. That will help both the legal process and himself,” Alexandrou said.

The case was adjourned until September 17, when the defendant is expected to enter a plea to the charges against him.

The court clarified that all restrictive measures previously imposed will automatically come back into force on September 15, meaning the 37-year-old must return to Cyprus and fully comply with them before appearing in court.

The court heard that the father was holding the three-year-old in his arms and playing with him while they waited outside their fourth-floor room. A window was located next to where they were standing, and investigators are examining whether one section of the window had been left open without the father realising it.

Police are investigating whether, during the course of playing with the child, the boy slipped from his father’s arms and fell through the opening.

The father, his wife and five-year-old daughter, were on the first day of their holiday with the grandparents when the tragedy occurred.