in-cyprus 8 August 2023 - by Annie Charalambous
Hundreds of fines issued for breach of Covid measures during the pandemic are unpaid and have now appeared in court, Philenews reported on Tuesday.
However, a judge has recently refused to reopen such cases arguing that it would be too costly for the Republic. And that the need for action on the pandemic is not there anymore.
The issue surfaced when the Police attempted on two occasions to re-register about 20 cases concerning Covid fines for which the violators refuse to pay.
While the cases were initially registered at the Nicosia District Court the defendants were subsequently not traced, either because they changed their address or because they were in hiding.
This meant that when the time for their trial approached, they were absent since they could not be served with the necessary summons.
In such cases, the Courts give two opportunities to the prosecution to make attempts to locate the accused. When this is not achieved, the case is withdrawn.
However, the names of those who have cases pending against them are kept in a special list and if and when they are traced – for whatever reason by the police – then they are handed a summons.
And the case against them opens again, but, just like the judge who refused to re-open it, this pattern could be repeated.
