Cyprus’ Supreme Court Plenary has rejected an appeal by forensic pathologist Panikos Stavrianos regarding the death of Thanasis Nicolaou.
The court upheld its earlier ruling that Nicolaou’s death was a result of murder, stating that the Plenary could not overturn its own previous decision.
The case now moves forward with a report from criminal investigators, due by March 7, to determine the cause of death and any potential criminal responsibility for Nicolaou’s death and the handling of the investigation. The investigators will also address whether the case was properly handled.
Nicolaou, a 26-year-old architect from Australia, was found dead on September 29, 2005, under the Alassa Bridge in Cyprus.
Initially ruled a suicide by Stavrianos, who conducted the autopsy, the case gained new attention when forensic pathologist Marios Matsakis re-examined the evidence in 2012 and concluded that foul play was likely involved.
In 2020, the European Court of Human Rights condemned Cyprus for its inadequate investigation and awarded the family €32,000 in compensation.
The family’s efforts, including the exhumation of Nicolaou’s body in 2020, led to new forensic findings in 2021 that confirmed the cause of death was strangulation, overturning the initial suicide ruling.
Source: K News.
