New developments emerged on Friday in the case surrounding the suicide of 15-year-old Stylianos Constantinou, with the Nicosia district court expected to decide by next week whether a confidential report will be made available to the defence.
Stylianos took his own life in 2019, and subsequent investigations led to a trial involving 11 suspects over the circumstances of his death.
A total of 218 charges have been brought against the defendants, including the teenager’s parents and nine employees of the social welfare services.
As part of the proceedings, the defence requested access to a report issued in November 2020, arguing that it is directly related to the disputed issues in the case.
One of the report’s authors is expected to testify as a prosecution witness in his capacity as the investigating judge.
The defence argued that the disputed finding constitutes relevant material for the adjudication of the case.
The defence argued that the report constitutes relevant material for the adjudication of the case and that its non-disclosure violates the principle of equality of arms, as well as the prosecution’s obligation to disclose all relevant material, even if it does not support its position.
It further maintained that the issue constitutes a procedural obstacle, arguing that the trial cannot proceed without disclosure of the document, as it was drafted by the next prosecution witness.
Prosecution lawyer Elena Konstantinou objected to the defence’s request.
She argued that the document should be excluded from the discovery process as it constitutes internal communication between criminal investigators and the Law Office of the Republic and is therefore confidential and not evidentiary material.
The court reserved its decision, with a ruling expected on April 2.
The report has already been submitted to the court for review.
The next hearings in the trial have been scheduled for April 7, April 20 and April 30.
Stylianos was found dead at his family farm on September 5, 2019, prompting an investigation into his death by the social welfare services.
In a subsequent report, ombudswoman Maria Stylianou Lottides identified serious institutional failures.
She found shortcomings on the part of both the police and social welfare services, describing the latter’s handling of the case as amounting to “utter criminal negligence” in recognising psychological violence against the teenager.
Lottides also alleged that responsible social workers bore criminal responsibility for the death and said police had failed to properly inform the relevant authorities about incidents of domestic violence.
At the time, social workers’ trade unions rejected her findings, arguing that staff were being unfairly blamed and were overworked.
The accused include Stylianos’ parents. His father faces charges related to alleged physical and psychological abuse, as well as common assault and “cruel and inhumane treatment”, while his mother is charged with failing to report incidents she was aware of.
The remaining defendants – nine social welfare services employees – face charges of neglect of duty, with two having already pleaded guilty.
A police sergeant is being tried separately on charges of dereliction of duty.
Following the teenager’s death, his two younger siblings were removed from the family home.
