The trial of former Interior Minister of Cyprus Dinos Michaelides and his son Michalis in Greece was postponed yesterday for the third time in two months. The next hearing will be held on July 10.
The trial was postponed as the defence lawyers protested that their clients were appointed a lawyer by court order a week ago, after it became known that their own lawyers could not follow the court’s schedule because it interfered with other cases.
Michaelides’ lawyers claimed that it would be impossible for court-appointed lawyers to properly defend their clients, because they would have to go through a “staggering amount of case-related documents.”
Dinos Michaelides and his son are accused of money laundering. Michalis Michaelides is involved in the transfer of large sums of money acquired from illegal activities, specifically bribes received by the former Greek Defense Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos for the purchase of the Russian TOR-M1 surface-to-air missile system.
The list of defendants includes Fouad al-Zayat, who is being tried in absentia. The Greek authorities have issued an international arrest warrant for al-Zayat who is accused of facilitating the purchase of Russian-made Tor-M1 anti-aircraft missiles by the Greek Government. He is also accused of channelling a 10 million dollar bribe to Akis Tsohatzopoulos through Michaelides.
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