Thanasis Nicolaou’s family to submit objection over Stavrianos’ certiorari

The family of national guardsman Thanasis Nicolaou will be submitting their objection to the Supreme Court on Thursday, over a motion filed by state pathologist Panicos Stavrianos.

The Supreme Court is slated to convene on Tuesday, after Stavrianos began proceedings seeking to annul the findings of the third inquiry into Nicolaou’s death, which deemed the guardsman was murdered.

A court verdict in May ruled Nicolaou died as a result of strangulation, due to criminal activity.

The findings fly in the face of Stavrianos’ initial assessment at the scene, where he was called in September 2005 under Alassa bridge after Nicolaou’s body was found.

Stavrianos ruled Nicolaou had died of suicide, prompting a backlash spanning 19 years from the guardsman’s family, who long-argued Nicolaou was killed for speaking out over drug dealing at his army unit.

A European Court of Human Rights decision ruled Cyprus’ handling of the case was poor.

In a post on Facebook on Wednesday, Nicolaou’s mother Andriana expressed the hope that “the judges will finally see with a clear mind the truth, and they will understand that something else is hiding behind this.”

She added she hoped “they would allow justice to be served.”

Andriana Nicolaou specified the objection over Stavrianos’ certiorari would be submitted to the Supreme Court on Thursday.

She said this was a particularly difficult month not only because of the court proceedings anew, but that because on September 29, the family would be marking 19 years since her son was murdered and his body found under Alassa bridge.

During the last year, lawyers for Nicolaou’s family charged the legal service was not impartial in the inquiry.

The legal service “passionately supported” Stavrianos’ findings were correct during the last inquiry into Nicolaou’s death, lawyer for the family Nicos Clerides told the court. As such, this stance that favoured Stavrianos points to a conflict of interest, he argued.

Following the inquiry which ruled Nicolaou was murdered, cabinet appointed two independent investigators to the case.

Retired Greek police lieutenant Lambros Pappas and lawyer Thanasis Athanasiou have been tasked with uncovering the circumstances behind Nicolaou’s death, as well as any “reprehensible acts” and omissions in how the case was handled.

The investigation is going ahead, regardless of the certiorari motion.

President Nikos Christodoulides himself said the truth must shine over what happened to Nicolaou, as he stressed it is high time to have answers over the case.