Stylianos trial adjourned until Tuesday

The hearing in the case concerning the death of 14-year-old Stylianos Constantinou has been adjourned until Tuesday, following a request by the prosecution. Proceedings will resume at 11am before Nicosia district court, where a new prosecution witness is expected to testify. The case concerns the suicide of Stylianos in September 2019 at the age of 14, with the court examining whether responsibility lies with members of his family and state services. The proceedings focus primarily on allegations of abuse or neglect within the family, whether the boy’s mother was aware of incidents and failed to report them, and whether officials from the Social Welfare Services adequately assessed and acted upon the information available to them. Related Articles • Court hears of assault on Stylianos and mother’s fears for her safety • Witness defends efforts to help Stylianos in court • Officer to be sentenced over Stylianos’ death • Stylianos ‘only felt safe at school’, was ‘beaten on soles of feet’ at home • Tensions flare during Stylianos trial • Stylianos severely neglected, court hears Meanwhile, two police officers testified on Friday about a 2013 assault on Stylianos and a subsequent report that his mother feared for her safety. Sergeant TN and police constable HT gave evidence concerning incidents involving Stylianos’ family in 2013. The sergeant, who served at Pera Chorio-Nisou police station between 2012 and 2014, then described a complaint made by Stylianos’ mother on May 14, 2013. The mother had arrived at the station with her three children, accompanied by a Social Welfare Services officer, reporting that her husband had struck Stylianos in the face the previous day at the family farm. She said that when she intervened, her husband attacked her and pulled her hair. Stylianos reportedly left the farm on foot. According to the mother, the incident had been triggered by the death of a sheep. Stylianos and his mother were taken to hospital, where doctors found bruising to the left side of the boy’s face. No visible injuries were identified on his mother. The sergeant said arrangements were made for Stylianos to give a video-recorded statement, but his mother initially refused, saying she did not want to cause him further distress by making him recall what had happened with his father. Stylianos eventually gave his statement on July 7, 2013, after written consent was obtained from Social Welfare Services. The court heard that on December 3, 2014, his father received a three-month prison sentence, suspended for three years, for assaulting the minor. The mother had withdrawn her own complaint. During cross-examination, the sergeant acknowledged she had not been present when Stylianos gave his recorded statement. Asked why the father had not been arrested, she said officers had followed instructions from their superior. Under cross-examination, the constable said he could not remember whether the father was present when police arrived and could not rule out the possibility that the mother had falsely claimed he was there.