Commando squadron officer Marinos Ioannou was handed an 18-month prison sentence on Monday without suspension, for the death of 27-year-old soldier Panayiotis Yiannios, who was critically injured during a helicopter training exercise in June 2022.

Ioannou was responsible for the helicopter drop and was found guilty on June 10 by the Nicosia military court of causing death due to reckless or dangerous behaviour.

Announcing the decision, judge Christodoulos Hadjieftychiou, head of the Nicosia military court, said the seriousness of the offence and the action of the accused to give the order to Yiannios to jump into the sea, without first obtaining permission from the captain, disregarding his safety and the loss of a human life, “make imprisonment the appropriate sentence”.

Yiannios had jumped from a helicopter, at a height of about eight metres, as part of a scheduled exercise, landing in the sea in Lara area of Akamas.

He was rescued by a boat, according to the scenario of the exercise, but was then found unconscious.

The soldier was taken to the intensive care unit at Nicosia general hospital in critical condition and later died.

He had been intubated and placed in a medically induced coma after suffering brain swelling and spine fractures during the accident.

Reading the ruling, the judge said the defendant had been found guilty of causing Yiannios’ death. “As a result of the fall, Yiannios died. He was 27 years old,” the judge said.

The judge referred to mitigating factors, such as the defendant’s clear criminal record and his family circumstances.

He also said that, although the defendant fell into the sea to help Yiannios, there was no evidence that he “endangered his own life.”

A total of 25 prosecution and two defence witnesses testified in court.

In relation to the defence attorney’s statement, during his speech for mitigating the sentence, that it was a momentary error and that the appropriate penalty was a fine, the court said that, “with all due respect, a momentary error could be characterised as a negligent action that occurs in a moment of time, in a fraction of a second, a wrong move of the moment or a careless move of the moment.”

“No such thing arises from the facts of the present case”, the judge said, explaining that the defendant ordered Yiannios “to jump into the sea, without having obtained permission from the captain”.

The judge said “this is not, therefore, a momentary mistake, but rather dangerous, reckless and thoughtless behaviour on the part of the defendant and disregard for the safety of the commando.”

He also pointed out that “the defendant’s failure to admit to the charge, as he was entitled to, is not an aggravating factor,” however “it affects the leniency that could be shown following an admission, which generally leads to a reduction in the sentence.”