Proceedings in the trial of ex volunteerism commissioner Yiannakis Yiannaki were cut short on Thursday after his lawyer, Yiannis Polychronis, walked out following a warning from the judge about contempt of court.
The trial, held at the Nicosia District Court, took a dramatic turn when Judge Nicole Gregoriou cautioned Polychronis that she would enforce strict measures regarding procedural violations if he continued to disregard the court’s time.
Polychronis reacted by stating he could not handle the pressure and requested to withdraw from the case. The court granted his request, and the proceedings were adjourned. A new advocate is expected to appear for Yiannaki on December 10 at 10.30am.
The tension began earlier in the session when Polychronis challenged the expertise of prosecution witness, police officer Stefanos Apeyitos. The disagreement escalated, prompting Judge Gregoriou’s warning.
After Polychronis’ withdrawal, Yiannaki confirmed he would proceed with a new lawyer.
Yiannaki is facing eight charges for forgery and circulating forged documents.
The case came to light in 2021, when former auditor-general Odysseas Michaelides wrote to the police chief after an investigation found out that the English translation of Yiannakis’ secondary school diploma had been tampered with. For example, for modern Greek, the diploma reads ‘thirteen’ but the number next to it has been changed to 19.
Under the subject ‘English’, it was also written out as ‘Thirteen’ but the number next to it said ‘19’. In both instances, it appears the 3 in the 13 had been crudely changed to a 9.
Polychronis said his client should not be denied the right to bring the issue of Michaelides’ request to the court.
The judge said this issue had already been decided to a great extent and would not be looked into at this stage.
Prosecutor Theodora Papakyriakou, representing the Law Office, argued that the request for termination was a separate issue and unrelated to the current proceedings. She added that the prosecution was under no obligation to provide the requested documents as they were confidential.
Polychronis disagreed, accusing the Law Office of inconsistency – claiming confidentiality while also stating the material was publicly available online. Papakyriakou clarified that only the minutes of related discussions were available online, not the confidential documents.
