LARNACA - Former Foreign Minister Marcos Kyprianou faced another day of cross examination in court Monday in the Mari explosion trial at Larnaca court.
He is accused causing death by failing to take precautions and negligent homicide.
Facing the same charges are former defence minister Costas Papacostas, former national guard deputy chief Savvas Argyrou, former fire service chief Andreas Nicolaou; deputy fire chief Charalambos Charalambous; and former disaster response squad commander Andreas Loizides.
Prosecutor Polina Efthyvoulou questioned his handling of the matter, referring to a planned visit by the UN sanctions committee that did not eventually take place. She suggested that the minister had been trying to buy time regarding the visit so that the president’s visit to Syria – the planned ultimate destination of the cargo of munitions – would not be affected. He rejected this suggestion and said that the committee had never been interested in the Mari munitions as they had already been confiscated but were more interested in visiting Limassol port in connection with ensuring sanctions were properly implemented against Iran.
The trial continues Tuesday.