A 53-year-old South African man, Joseph Davidson, has been acquitted by the Larnaca Permanent Criminal Court after spending one and a half years in prison awaiting trial on rape charges.
The court ruled on Monday that the defendant had not committed the offence he was accused of.
According to Davidson, the allegations were part of a scheme allegedly organised by his former Lithuanian wife, her sister and their mother in an attempt to gain access to 189 gold coins and his wider assets.
Defence lawyer claims authorities ignored warnings
Speaking on SIGMA TV programme “Protoselido”, defence lawyer Elias Christou said his client arrived in Cyprus carrying gold coins worth around €1 million, which he kept in safes.
Christou claimed Davidson had informed authorities from the beginning that the accusations were linked to efforts to seize the gold.
“He had explained to the authorities that this was being done because of the gold and that they would take the gold from the bank, but nobody examined his claims,” the lawyer said.
Contradictions emerged during trial
According to the defence, Davidson ended up in prison because of what they described as fabricated allegations.
When the case eventually reached trial, significant contradictions reportedly emerged in witness testimonies and evidence presented before the court.
The court ultimately acquitted the 53-year-old of all charges.
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