An officer present at the arrest of the German ‘real estate agent’ currently on trial for allegedly usurping Greek Cypriot properties in the north was heard as a witness before Nicosia court on Wednesday.

In the hearing, the officer testified that the woman had indeed been informed of the reason for her arrest and the subsequent search procedure by a Greek-German interpreter that was called to the scene at Larnaca airport in July last year.

According to the officer, the suspect had been told that she was not obliged to give consent to the search but did so regardless, noting she had acknowledged the consent document signed in her presence.

Before the arrival of the interpreter, the officers communicated with her in English which the testimony said the accused spoke well, emphasising her initial willingness to cooperate.

Defence lawyer Sotiris Argyrou in response to the officer’s testimony disputed the sequence of his defendant’s arrest, claiming she had not consented to the search of the luggage.

He further added that the interpreter was only called after evidence was found in her suitcases, claiming he aimed to pursue the defendant to sign the respective form.

Finally, Argyrou brought up alleged health problems of the defendant, claiming detention conditions were not appropriate and she had not been given access to her medication and was only given painkillers.

The defendant herself later on stated her health was deteriorating with detention conditions affecting her ability to attend the trial and requested assistance in obtaining her medication.

The court president Nikolas Georgiadis noted the concerns, however stressed that the court could not intervene in prison administration except to expedite the process.

The prosecution denied the claims, saying medication was indeed provided to the defendant, except for some unapproved nutritional supplements, for which there were alternatives in Cyprus.

The German woman was arrested upon attempting to board an outbound flight from Larnaca airport in July last year after having reportedly spoken about selling property in the north to an off-duty police officer during her inbound flight.

The officer in question reportedly informed the woman that selling property in the north was illegal, something to which she did not respond. He later reportedly told a colleague about the story with an investigation launched subsequently.

She denies all charges.