The criminal court in Nicosia is currently hearing the case of the German real estate agent Eva Isabella Künzel. She is accused of marketing real estate in northern Cyprus that originally belonged to Greek Cypriots.

The focus of the current trial is not only on the actual accusation, but increasingly also on constitutional questions around the right to a fair trial and the circumstances of their arrest.

In the most recent session, the public prosecutor's office submitted a motion to summon further witnesses. Among them is a police officer who was involved in the investigation and had processed documents that were forwarded to German authorities.

The public prosecutor's office argued that these additional witnesses were necessary to fully present the course of the investigation and clarify open points.

The defense, however, strongly opposed this approach. She criticized the fact that new witnesses were being named without disclosing the exact content of their statements. She also pointed out that the investigating authorities had continued to collect evidence about a year after the indictment was filed.

From the point of view of the defense, this approach points to gaps in the original indictment, which should now be closed retrospectively.

The presiding judge announced that he would decide on January 14 on the admission of the additional witnesses. The defendant is still in custody.

The entire case began in a conversation during a scheduled flight to Cyprus. There was a brief exchange between the defendant and the Cypriot MEP Geadis Geadi.

According to the public prosecutor's office, the woman admitted in this conversation that she had to do with real estate in the north of Cyprus. Geadi then informed the police. A few days later, the German was arrested while trying to leave Cyprus.

significant part of the ongoing proceedings does not deal with the question of guilt itself, but with the question of whether the arrest and the subsequent searches were lawful. In this context, the defense speaks of a "trial within a trial".

The defendant described in court that she had only had two to three short conversations with Geadi, no longer than ten minutes in total. She emphasized that she spoke only limited English and explained that she had only told him that she worked as a real estate agent in Germany.

She expressly rejected the accusation that she had declared that she was advertising or selling real estate in the north of Cyprus.

Although there is a police statement signed by her in which exactly this is recorded, she denied having made this statement in terms of content. She explained that she had not fully understood what exactly had been recorded due to language communication problems.

The search of their luggage and the seizure of electronic devices is particularly controversial. The defense argues that the consent to the search was not valid.

The defendant explained that she had not understood the corresponding form and had in fact been pressured to sign. In addition, part of the form – specifically the reference to her luggage – was only added later.

The public prosecutor's office, represented by Anna Mattheou, contradicted this account. According to her version, the content of the form had been completely translated into German, the defendant had understood her rights and had voluntarily consented.

However, the court has not yet followed this argumentation unequivocally.

Another point of contention concerns the treatment of the defendants during the arrest. She described tense and sometimes aggressive behavior of the officers, lack of access to a lawyer and limited communication options. The public prosecutor's office also rejects these accusations.

When the public prosecutor's office tried to further shed light on earlier statements by the defendants about possible business relationships in northern Cyprus, the defense intervened.

The court agreed with her and made it clear that at this stage of the proceedings, only the legality of the arrest had to be examined. The credibility of the defendants could only be assessed at a later date.

Continuation of the proceedings

The proceedings will continue in several sessions. In addition to the decision on the additional witnesses, further trial days are scheduled for June and July.

The case is considered legally and politically sensitive, as it touches on fundamental questions of property rights, the jurisdiction of Cypriot courts and the procedural rights of foreign defendants.







Author: Redaktion
Source: CyprusMail.com