Tensions flared during the trial concerning the death of 14-year-old Stylianos Constantinou at Nicosia district court on Friday, as a former special education teacher was cross-examined over allegations that the boy had been forced to work on his family’s farm.
Stylianos died by suicide in 2019.
The hearing was marked by a heated exchange between the witness and the lawyer representing the boy’s father, prompting the judge to intervene and restore order. The judge also advised Stylianos’ father to moderate his reactions in the courtroom.
The teacher, who had supported Stylianos during the 2012-2013 school year, was questioned about the boy’s repeated claims that his father had made him work on the family farm.
During an earlier hearing, the witness testified that he frequently found Stylianos asleep at his desk when collecting him for special education lessons.
“When we tried to wake him up, he wouldn’t wake up, while the excuse he gave us was that he was tired because he was at the farm until 11 at night,” the teacher had said.
During Friday’s cross-examination, the defence lawyer challenged the accuracy of the boy’s accounts, arguing that it would have been impossible for a seven-year-old to herd sheep in the dark at 11pm or carry out such demanding tasks.
“Instead of playing with his toys, he was in the yard,” the witness said, prompting the lawyer to counter that Stylianos had been playing with a ball in the family’s backyard.
The lawyer also argued that even if the boy’s parents occasionally took him to the farm because they could not leave him alone at home, including when they needed to deliver a sheep, this did not mean he had been made to work.
“It’s one thing for it to happen once and another for it to happen all year round,” the witness replied.
The cross-examination then turned to the teacher’s earlier testimony concerning Stylianos’ appearance and personal hygiene.
The witness had previously told the court that the boy frequently had dirty hair and blackened fingernails and gave off a strong, unpleasant smell.
He said he could not recall ever seeing Stylianos clean or without what he described as a strong smell of animals.
The defence lawyer suggested that the boy could have become dirty while playing at school before attending his special education lessons.
“Can’t you rule out that Stylianos could have gotten dirty from playing by the time of your lesson, the fourth or fifth period? Doesn’t the school have dirt?” the lawyer asked.
“Elementary school children don’t play with dirt. They’re not in kindergarten. These things aren’t allowed in elementary school. They’re ministry of education regulations,” the witness replied.
The lawyer maintained that Stylianos was capable of washing and looking after himself, while the teacher insisted that he had never seen the boy clean at school.
“It is at least an oxymoron to claim in court that Stylianos was herding, calving, milking, and did not know how to wash and clean himself,” the lawyer said.
The proceedings are scheduled to resume on Monday, October 26, at 11am.