Sole defendant for military death acquitted

The Nicosia military court acquitted the sole defendant in the case concerning the accident that saw 27-year-old Corporal Natali Neophytou die while on military duty, it emerged on Tuesday.

The court’s decision on Friday followed its dismissal of 12 out of 14 prosecution witnesses as unreliable.

The court found these witnesses, who were executives and soldiers of the National Guard guilty of ‘selective memory and lying’, alleging that their testimonies aimed to obscure the truth and implicate the accused non-commissioned officer.

The officer was not present at the site of the accident nor in the vehicle involved.

The legal service and the defence ministry are reviewing the court’s decision, and Defence Minister Vassilis Palmas has signalled his intention to pursue prosecution against the witnesses deemed unreliable if an appeal is not filed.

Meanwhile, the law firm representing the acquitted officer has criticised the legal service for excluding others involved in the accident from the indictment and has called for a comprehensive reinvestigation.

Neophytou was inside a military jeep during a training exercise at 11am when the vehicle overturned.

She was rushed to Nicosia general hospital in critical condition and intubated, but doctors were unable to save her life.