Paphos Assize Court today ruled that the confession of a retired British miner accused of murdering his terminally ill wife in Paphos was obtained lawfully and can be used as evidence against him.
The court was called to decide on an argument set out by the defence saying that David Hunter, 75, was in no fit state to be interviewed without a lawyer, especially given his attempted suicide.
The 75-year-old’s defence team had previously called a forensic psychiatrist to give evidence, who said Hunter was suffering from dissociation, and that statements made to medical professionals should be inadmissible against him.
However, today the court found that Hunter was lucid, proven by the fact that at the time of his arrest, he recalled to police and to his brother back in the UK in detail how he allegedly strangled his wife, because he wanted to end her suffering and how he had subsequently taken pills to end his life.
Commenting on the ruling, Michael Polak, a spokesperson for Justice Abroad, an organisation supporting Britons facing legal challenges in other countries, said that the defence team are “surprised and disappointed by the ruling.”
“The right to a lawyer, and the waiver of this right is very strictly applied in European law which specifically requires that the right to a lawyer must be given clearly in a language that the suspect understands and that any waiver must be both voluntarily and unequivocal,” he noted.
Polak added that the defence will be applying for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of Cyprus to review whether the law has been properly applied in relation.
“We will continue to do everything possible to fight for Mr Hunter and to protect his right to a fair trial,” Polak said.
Hunter remains on trial for premeditated murder after a plea deal on the lesser charge of manslaughter collapsed.
He allegedly suffocated his ailing wife and then tried to end his own life by taking an overdose in December 2021 in Tremithousa, Paphos. He said his wife had asked him to help her die.
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Paphos Briton’s trial adjurned; prosecution doubts wife gave consent to killing
