The death of national guardsman Thanasis Nicolaou in 2005 was strangulation, a judge ruled on Friday.
Judge Doria Varoshiotou announced her ruling in the Nicolaou inquiry to a packed courtroom as a number of demonstrators with banners gathered outside Limassol’s district court.
As she issued her verdict, the judges voice was shaky and she appeared emotional. The people in the courtroom broke out in applause and tears, pointing at state prosecutors and yelling: Corrupt.
Thanasis family members were in tears hugging each other. They killed my son, the national guardsmans mother Andriana Nicolaou said. “Light has won against the darkness”
People travelled from across the country to attend the hearing and to support the Nicolaou family, particularly Andriana, who has been at the forefront of the fight for justice over the past 19 years.
This was the third inquiry into the national guardsman’s death.
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Demonstrators outside the court (Photo: Christos Theodorides)
Thanasis Nicolaou was found dead under Alassa bridge in September 2005. He was 26. Forensic pathologist Panicos Stavrianos ruled it was a suicide, however the family has long-argued it was a murder coverup.
The European Court of Human Rights has condemned Cyprus for its insufficient investigation into the case, calling it inadequate.
Former investigator on the case Savvas Matsas previously told court the case was filled with lies, omissions and that there is an ongoing conspiracy seeking to cover up the case and call it a suicide.
Matsas was removed as investigator from the case by the attorney-general, who argued it was because he revealed details of his findings to the media, something he denied.
“The reason the AG excluded me from this investigation… is because they understood I wouldn’t do whatever they want.
At the start of the third inquest, last October, the two sides had decided to continue the process from where it had stopped, that is, on the basis of the new information brought to light following exhumation and examination of Nicolaou’s bones in 2020, which led to the conclusion that his death was due to a criminal act and not a suicide.
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