Filenews 15 November 2025 - by Fanis Makridis
After more than five years, the trial of the unprecedented case that shocked Cypriot society in October 2020 (13/10/2020), when eight patients suffered blindness due to complications in cataract surgery, which they underwent in a private hospital in Nicosia, begins.
The defendants are two ophthalmologists who are in their sixth decade of age and are facing eight charges, for each patient, related to the offense of reckless negligent acts in violation of articles 236(e), 20 and 35 of the Criminal Code.
This means that if they are convicted of the misdemeanor, they will face a prison sentence of up to two years. The exact reference we found in the Criminal Code states: "... misdemeanours shall be punishable by imprisonment not exceeding two years, or by a fine not exceeding one thousand five hundred pounds, or by both."
The two doctors in April 2022 pleaded not guilty to the charges they are facing, while yesterday the case was set for a hearing before the Nicosia District Court.
What happened in Court
Although the representative of the prosecution, Elena Constantinou, stated her readiness to call the first prosecution witness, an examiner of the Nicosia Police Department, however, following the recommendation of the defense attorney of the accused, Marios Spyrou, the start of the hearing was postponed.
In particular, Mr. Spyrou suggested that in consultation with the prosecuting authority, some facts be admitted, which will save valuable judicial time. This is because the admission of facts will avoid the sworn testimony of some of the 52 prosecution witnesses before the Court.
Since the public prosecutor Eleni Konstantinou stated that she does not object, the District Judge, Pavlos Agapitos, set a hearing for December 22 in order to declare the admissible facts. At the same time, he scheduled dates in March for the hearing.
The details of the offense
As we noted, the charges against the doctors concern eight persons. We record one of the details of the offense for which they are accused, in order to give an indicative picture: "The accused, on October 13, 2020, in Nicosia in ... Private Hospital, while they were Ophthalmologists, in such a recklessly hasty or negligent way, as to endanger human life or be likely to cause bodily harm to another, they carried out medical or surgical treatment in the ... from Nicosia, during which they used eye drops, serum, cartridges and other consumables which were disposable, as a result of which the above patient was infected with the multi-resistant strain pseudomonas aeruginosa and lost the vision of his left eye".
It should be noted that as far as the events during the period in question are concerned, they are attributed through an announcement issued by the Union of Private Doctors of Cyprus. The Union, wanting to clarify the exact conditions, had recorded, among other things, the following positions: "The eight patients were operated on for cataract surgery, in a private hospital in Nicosia integrated into the GHS (...) Regarding the recent serious problem that arose with the postoperative complications of patients who underwent cataract surgery and whose patients are currently being treated at Makarios Hospital, the Association of Private Doctors of Cyprus (ENIK), wishes to publish the real picture of the incidents, since its members are involved (...) Eight patients were operated on for cataract surgery in a private hospital in Nicosia included in the GHS and presented, A few days later, a severe postoperative intraocular infection. Based on international protocols, these patients urgently had to undergo diagnostic-therapeutic vitrectomy, which could not be done either in the hospital where the operations were initially performed, or in Makarios Hospital, since they do not have the equipment and doctors for such an operation. Two clinics in Limassol responded and performed the necessary operations, which decongested the eyes of the patients, but also helped to identify the germ that caused the problem. Patients now need close monitoring and administration of intravenous and topical antibiotics over a long period of time. For this purpose, it was deemed necessary to admit them to Makareio for further treatment. This cooperation between the ophthalmic clinic of Makarios and the private clinics existed even before the implementation of the GHS. The claim that public hospitals are called upon to correct the mistakes of private hospitals is not true."
However, patients had serious complications in the end, losing vision in one eye, while in some cases the eyeball was removed.
They lost sight and eyeball
As can be deduced from the indictment, the eight patients, four women and an equal number of men, who had undergone surgery, suffered the following damage to their health:
>> Male patient lost vision in the left eye.
>> A male patient lost vision in his right eye and his eyeball was removed.
>> Female patient lost her sight in her left eye.
>> A male patient lost his sight in his right eye and his eyeball was removed.
>> A female patient lost her sight in her left eye and her eyeball was removed.
>> A female patient lost her sight in her right eye and her eyeball was removed.
>> Female patient lost her sight in her left eye.
>> A male patient lost the vision of his right eye and his eyeball was removed.
Two patients died by the time of registration
- October 2020 the incident, registration in February 2022 and without starting a hearing to date
The slow pace of justice in Cyprus, whether by guilt or acquittal, is highlighted once again. The case arose in October 2020 and the Legal Service gave instructions to register it with the Court in February 2022.
In the meantime, specifically one year after the operation of the eight patients, two of them had already died. On October 17, 2021, when she had passed away at the age of 79, Christoulla Strati, her grandson Father Raphael, had made statements to the Alpha TV station linking her death to the cataract surgery that the deceased had performed. "Since the death certificate tells me multi-organ failure and heart failure, I can very well draw the conclusion and say that this incident and the infection that existed affected her vital organs," she had said characteristically.
After the operation, Mrs. Strati had lost her vision in her right eye and her eyeball had been removed. "I will vindicate all eight. As long as I live and breathe, I will not allow the first to the last to say that these people are not justified," Father Raphael had said, among other things.
The fact that five years after the incident that led to the blinding of patients, a hearing of the case has not even begun, automatically brings back to the sphere of public debate the general issue of the slow pace of justice in Cyprus. According to official data, even in cases of organized crime there is a serious delay. A recent statistical analysis by the Global Initiative against Cross-Border Organized Crime (analysis of Interpol data from more than 350 experts), notes among others the following: "The judicial system in Cyprus faces significant challenges in adjudicating organized crime cases (...) The shortage of judges and the increase in cases have further burdened the system, resulting in low efficiency."
