The attorney general on Tuesday confirmed he will not suspend the private criminal prosecution brought by the family of national guardsman Thanasis Nicolaou.

In a written response to the lawyer of one of the five defendants, the attorney general, George Savvides, said he does not intend to intervene in the judicial process by suspending the prosecution.

This allows the private case, which began on December 9 before the Limassol district court, to proceed without obstruction.

The request was submitted by lawyer Andriana Klaidi, representing Christakis Kapiliotis, who at the time of Nicolaou’s death in 2005 was head of the Lania police station and was in charge of investigations regarding the conscript’s death.

Klaidi argued that the prosecution should be halted in light of earlier advice, including statements by deputy attorney general Savvas Angelides that a dereliction of duty could not be established.

The AG is expected to give the same answer if the other four defendants submit similar applications, Philenews reported.

The case concerns the death of Thanasis Nicolaou, a 26-year-old national guardsman who was found dead under the Alassa bridge near Limassol in September 2005.

Authorities initially ruled his death a suicide, a conclusion reaffirmed by a second inquiry in 2009.

Nicolaou’s family, led by his mother Andriana, consistently challenged those findings, alleging serious investigative failures and a cover-up.

In 2020, the European court of human rights ruled that Cyprus had failed to conduct an effective investigation into Nicolaou’s death.

A third inquiry, completed in 2024, concluded that Nicolaou had been strangled and that his death was the result of a criminal act.

The supreme court upheld that finding in February 2025, increasing public and political pressure for accountability.

Despite the homicide ruling, the legal service decided there was insufficient evidence to bring forward criminal prosecutions.

Five individuals are named as defendants in the private case, with the majority of the charges made against former state pathologist Panikos Stavrianos.

Stavrianos had originally ruled Nicolaou’s death a suicide, a finding overturned after exhumation and subsequent forensic examinations.

The indictment includes 39 charges, ranging from conspiracy to obstruct justice to perjury, the issuing of a falsified certificate by a public official, destruction of evidence and interference with judicial proceedings.

At the first court hearing, defence lawyers indicated they would raise objections, including challenges to the approval of the private prosecution itself.

They argued that Savvas Matsas, who represents the family, had previously been appointed as an independent criminal investigator in the case and therefore could not act as a prosecutor.

Earlier this year, Matsas reported receiving death threats and intimidating messages following the release of the investigation report, prompting a police inquiry.

The trial is set to continue on January 22.