Phedonos trial begins behind closed doors

The trial of suspended Paphos mayor Phedonas Phedonos, who stands accused of rape and domestic abuse, begins on Monday behind closed doors. Paphos criminal court chief justice Lia Markou announced the decision at the hearing on July 16. She said that in line with the ruling, the publication of any of the minutes of the forthcoming proceedings is prohibited. It was also decided that the next five hearings will be held on consecutive days between July 27 and July 31 at 9am. Phedonos pleaded not guilty to all charges last month, having been charged with five offences in total, including rape, indecent assault, actual bodily harm and administering a substance capable of intoxicating or neutralising another person’s resistance, among other offences. Related Articles • Phedonos trial to be held behind closed doors • Court to decide whether Phedonos case will be heard behind closed doors • Phedonos pleads not guilty to rape and abuse charges • Court rejects Phedonos’ appeal against suspension • New delay in Phedonos rape case after judge seeks recusal • Suspended Paphos mayor to appear before court in rape case Allegations of domestic abuse against Phedonos surfaced after social media personality Ioanna Photiou, better known by her alias Annie Alexui, claimed to hold documents from the related to admissions of Phedonos’ wife Louiza Andreou to the Nicosia general hospital in 2017, which stated that she had been “beaten” by Phedonos. Andreou has vehemently denied all accusations made against her husband, writing in a post on social media that “my family is being subjected to a coordinated attack”. The allegations of rape surfaced in February, when Paphos-based land developer Theodoros Aristodemou, of Aristo Developers, accused him of committing the crime around ten years ago, before giving a statement to the police. Shortly after the accusations were made, Phedonos was suspended from his mayoral post by Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou. Since being suspended, he has been paid a third of his mayoral salary by the state and Angelos Onisiforou has been working as acting Paphos mayor.