The 37-year-old, who is due back in Cyprus on September 14, is facing charges over the death of his three-year-old son at a Paphos hotel.

The British father charged following the death of his three-year-old son at a Paphos hotel has asked the attorney-general to suspend the criminal prosecution against him, his lawyer told the Cyprus Mail on Wednesday.

Defence lawyer Alexandros Alexandrou said a formal request had been submitted to the attorney-general seeking the suspension of proceedings against the 37-year-old.

The father, who was allowed to return to the UK last month for his son’s funeral, is due back in Cyprus on September 14.

Asked what would happen if he failed to return, Alexandrou said a European arrest warrant would be sought, but stressed that there was “no possibility” of his client not coming back.

The case is due before Paphos district court again on September 17, when the father had been expected to enter a plea.

However, Alexandrou said the defence would not answer to the charges if it had not received a response from the attorney-general by then.

“We are waiting to answer to the charges. If we do not have an answer from the attorney-general, we will not answer to the charges until the attorney-general responds to us,” he said.

The funeral of the three-year-old has since taken place in the UK.

“The family is going through a very difficult time” Alexandrou said, adding that the father’s young daughter wants him close to her.

The father was granted permission by Paphos district court on August 3 to return to the UK after depositing an additional €10,000 cash guarantee. Under the court order, he must return to Cyprus by September 14, with his previous restrictive measures coming back into force the following day. These include a €20,000 financial guarantee, surrender of his travel documents and weekly reporting to Paphos police. 

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.