The District Court of Nicosia decided, at the request of the Police, to renew for another eight days the detention order of the on holiday Archimandrite and Abbot of the Holy Monastery of St. Avvakoum, Nektarios, who was arrested on the morning of Tuesday, June 18, in connection with the case of the safe, which was located on the grounds of the Monastery and contained the sum of €807.000.
Judge Nicole Grigoriou, in her decision, stated that "there is a visible risk of influencing testimony, which is reinforced by the witness's claim that the suspect tried to influence witnesses."
There is testimony, added the Judge, "that creates a reasonable suspicion that the suspect is involved in the crimes under investigation."
He also noted that there is investigative work that has not been completed, more than 45 depositions need to be taken of which 21 are investigative and which are time-consuming.
The requested decree for the 8 days is justified, inquiries are ongoing, the case presents a high degree of complexity, he concluded.
Archimandrites in Argia is suspected of 11 offences, including offenses related to conspiracy to commit bribery, theft by proxy, tax offences, money laundering, obtaining money by false representation, forgery, theft, illegal possession of property and interference in court proceedings. The offenses allegedly took place between 2020 – 2024.
The representative of the Accusing Authority, Antigoni Michael, during her speech, said that the Court is asked to examine whether the time of detention that has passed was used sufficiently by the Police and whether there is any remaining work that is pending to be implemented.
He added that during these 8 days, the Police received quite a large number of statements, with some of them, especially of the suspect, lasting many hours. "It appears that the Police's time was put to good use," he said.
In addition, he referred to a large number of depositions that are still pending, while he noted that in addition to the depositions that the Police did not have time to complete, other actions must be taken, resulting from the statements of the witnesses.
He added that the work that remains is huge. "The nature of the case is not simple," he said, noting that another Authority is also involved, since the investigations are also being done with the help of the Tax Department.
"The time requested is considered justified in view of the remaining work," he said.
The defense lawyer, Efstathios Efstathiou, in his speech, said that the Police must prove that the time spent in detention was used correctly and for the reason that the decree was issued.
He said that regarding the VAT offences, the witness, Constable Panagiotis Panagiotou, did not reveal whether there are accounting books, handwritten or electronic, which affects, he said, the time needed for the interrogation.
Furthermore, for the VAT offenses and the forgery offence, for which the Police have already collected a sample of the suspect's handwriting and signature, he argued that it is not necessary to keep the suspect in custody.
He also argued that if it is deemed necessary to continue the detention, the 8 days requested by the Police are not justified by the remaining work. He added that the Police have a duty to investigate promptly and without delay and put forward the position that the Police program should be adapted to the right to freedom of the citizen and not the other way around.
He argued that it has not been proven that the Police used 100% of the time and that the requested extension of 8 days is not logically necessary.
The witness had submitted a written affidavit of 45 pages, in which he mentioned the work done and the work pending. In addition, he submitted a relevant list of the above to the Court.
From the examination of the witness, it emerged that the suspect was questioned by the Police 4 times during his detention, on June 19, 20, 21 and 25. The first two interrogations lasted 5.30 and 8.30 hours respectively. In the third interrogation the suspect asked to change his lawyer and refused to answer any other questions. In the final interrogation, which lasted 4.30 hours, the suspect exercised his constitutional right to remain silent.
The constable maintained that the interrogation has not been completed. "We need to ask him more questions," he said.
Regarding the pending depositions, the witness said that 6 people will be called for questioning based on the suspect's allegations. Another 10 people close to the suspect will also be questioned.
The defense lawyer submitted a series of questions regarding the persons to be called for questioning, with the prosecution raising an objection, which was accepted by the Court, in order not to outline the persons to be called for testimony.
Mr. Efstathiou referred to a letter sent on Tuesday by people close to the suspect asking the Police to interrogate him, and claimed that the Police did not accept their request. The witness replied that this was not the case. He noted that statements were taken from four persons yesterday and it was not possible to interrogate more. He said that one more person is expected to be interrogated today and the rest will be summoned within the day.
Responding to a related question, he said that all four persons exercised their right to remain silent.
The witness was also asked about how many people make up the investigative team and how they work. He replied that the investigative team consists of 6 people who work on a 12-hour shift system, stating that if necessary they stay longer.
Asked whether the Police have secured accounting records, he replied that financial documents have been obtained, which are being evaluated.
The defense lawyer also asked the witness whether today's meeting of the Legal Service is related to the present proceedings, with the witness replying that he does not know and he himself is investigating the case, for which investigative work is still pending and therefore an extension of the detention order is requested.
Source: KYPE
