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The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has found that Cyprus violated a man’s right to be presumed innocent, ordering the state to pay him €5,000 in damages.
In a ruling issued Sept. 25, the Strasbourg-based court said Cypriot judges improperly linked the applicant, identified in the case as Iosif v. Cyprus, to crimes committed by others in a separate trial where he was not a defendant. The references, the court said, went beyond neutral description and suggested his direct involvement.
The judgment emphasized that European human rights law prohibits courts from implying guilt in decisions concerning people who are not formally accused. The panel concluded that the language used in the Cypriot judgment risked undermining the applicant’s right to be presumed innocent.
At the same time, the court dismissed the man’s claim that Cyprus lacked effective legal remedies to challenge such violations. It noted that he had sought to halt criminal proceedings against him before a three-judge panel in the Assize Court, which had the authority to rule in his favor. The fact that his request was denied, the court said, did not mean the process was ineffective.
The applicant was awarded €5,000 for non-pecuniary damages but no additional costs.
