Clashes erupted in a Limassol courtroom on Thursday where the three brothers charged with the murder of 44-year-old Christos Michael in Limassol on January 14 were on trial on Thursday.
Reports said clashes broke out between the victim’s relatives and the defendants and police had to intervene.
At the trial, the relatives of Michael were wearing black T-shirts with his photo, which read “We will never forget you. Forever in our hearts”.
A little earlier, the criminal court had decided to exclude one of the judges from the proceedings at the request of the defence. At the time of the arrest, the judge had condemned the fact that young people committed such offences which could be viewed as going into the trial with a pre-determined opinion.
The trial was postponed until October 11, when the three defendants, aged 28, 20 and 16 are expected to answer to charges of premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit murder, robbery, and the illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
The court also ruled that until then, all testimony has to be submitted by the defence lawyers to be examined.
While the 16-year-old remains free on restrictive terms the older two will be remanded in custody until the new trial date.
Both the 28-year-old and the 20-year-old reportedly admitted committing the offence, while the minor said he was not involved. According to the brothers’ statement, their motive was to rob Michael.
The 28-year-old allegedly said he fired the shot which killed the victim with a hunting gun.
Michael was found dead in his car with bullet wounds to his chest in a field in Ayios Silas in Limassol on January 14.
The three brothers from Limassol were arrested on the afternoon of the murder.
It was initially suspected that the crime was drug-related as Michael had been arrested in 2017 in possession of 350 grammes of cocaine.
At the time, he tried to flee, hitting two police cars in the process. Officers had to fire warning shots to detain him.
