Court sets deadline for pretrial proceedings in Thanasis Nicolaou case

The court has issued a strict directive to finalize all pretrial matters concerning the private criminal prosecutions brought by the family of Thanasis Nicolaou by Friday, September 11. The judge expressed significant dissatisfaction over further delays, urging both legal teams to prepare for the start of the hearing phase in October.

The current indictment involves several individuals, including medical examiner Panikos Stavrianos, former Limassol Police Chief Andreas Iatropoulos, and former department heads Nikos Sofokleous, Christakis Nathaniel, and Christakis Kapiliotis. Despite previous judicial instructions, the defense raised a new preliminary objection regarding the revised indictment, forcing the postponement of the proceedings originally scheduled for September 9.

The judge emphasized that excessive time has already been spent on the pretrial stage and reiterated his intention to conclude these procedural steps within September. The court is focused on moving the case toward a full hearing to avoid further stagnation in the legal process.