Newsroom
A man accused of raping a woman with a mental disability, along with a series of other serious sexual offenses, will remain in custody after Cyprus’ Court of Appeal rejected his request to be released ahead of trial.
The accused is facing eight charges in total, including rape, sexual harassment, indecent assault, exploiting a woman with a mental or physical disability, and psychological violence and harassment. The alleged offenses date back to August 2025.
He had argued that he should not stay in detention while waiting for trial, claiming that parts of the evidence, including forensic results and alleged inconsistencies in the complainant’s testimony, weakened the case against him.
He has been held in custody since August 22, 2025, when he first appeared before the Criminal Court in Paphos. The case has faced repeated delays since then, including procedural issues and a change of defense lawyer. The trial is now set to begin on June 15, 2026.
But the Court of Appeal dismissed his request.
Judges said decisions on pre-trial detention are mainly for the trial court to decide and can only be overturned in exceptional cases.
They said the lower court had already examined the defense arguments, including the DNA findings, but found that these issues mainly relate to the credibility of witnesses, something that must be tested during the full trial, not at this stage.
The court also said that, based on the evidence available so far, there is still enough to justify keeping the defendant in custody pending trial.
Claims about the length of detention were also rejected, with the court noting that the trial date was set based on court scheduling and procedural requirements and that the overall detention period does not go beyond what case law allows.
With all grounds of appeal dismissed, the Court of Appeal upheld the earlier decision. The man will remain in custody until his trial begins next year.
