A British father facing charges over the death of his three-year-old son at a hotel in Paphos has been allowed by a Cyprus court to temporarily return to the United Kingdom to attend the child’s funeral.
The 37-year-old London banker had been prohibited from leaving Cyprus while facing a charge related to the death of his son, who fell from a fourth-floor hotel window on 12 July.
Court lifts travel restriction for one month
The court approved the removal of the travel restriction for one month on humanitarian grounds.
The man provided an additional €10,000 guarantee to secure permission to leave Cyprus. His passport will be returned on Wednesday, and his name will be removed from the exit ban list for the duration of the approval.
He is expected to reunite with his wife and their five-year-old surviving daughter, who returned to the UK last week with the child’s body.
The family welcomed the decision, saying it would allow the father to begin the “heartbreaking process” of arranging the funeral.
Father denies allegations
The father maintains that he placed his son on the window ledge while they were waiting for the hotel lift, believing the window was closed.
According to the information presented in court, the window was open, and the child fell approximately 10 metres from the fourth floor onto a terrace below, where he later died from his injuries.
The father continues to face a charge of causing death through a reckless, dangerous or negligent act, which carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison.
Defence highlights humanitarian reasons
His lawyer, Alexandros Alexandrou, said his client remains under significant psychological pressure but was relieved by the court’s decision.
“He needed to return to his family, to his home, to grieve properly and reunite with all members of his family,” he said.
The lawyer had previously asked the court to show leniency on humanitarian grounds, noting that the father is the legal guardian of the five-year-old child who survived.
Return to Cyprus required
The father is expected to travel to the UK on Wednesday but must return to Cyprus by 14 September.
He is due to appear before the court again on 17 September to respond to the charges.
The €10,000 guarantee, together with a previous €20,000 guarantee paid two weeks earlier, will be returned provided he complies with the court’s conditions.
He must also provide Cypriot authorities with his UK home address, telephone number and employer details. Upon his return to Cyprus, his passport will be confiscated again, and the exit ban will be reinstated.
Investigation remains ongoing
The prosecution and defence have presented different accounts of the events leading to the child’s death.
A date for the funeral has not yet been set, pending the court’s decision.
A family friend told the Daily Mail that the family was “living through an unimaginable nightmare”.
According to the same newspaper, the 37-year-old had consumed a small amount of alcohol, around one to two drinks, and the presence of alcohol in his blood is a key element in the prosecution’s case.
The prosecution claims that the father was holding the child around the waist and moving him back and forth inside the hotel room when the child fell through the window.
The family strongly rejects this claim, insisting that the father only placed the child on the windowsill for a moment, as there was no indication that the large sliding glass window, measuring approximately 2.4 by 1.2 metres, was open.
In Cyprus, there is no legislation requiring windows to remain closed, regardless of their size, as long as the bottom part of the window is positioned more than 1.1 metres above the floor.
Initially, the family told their five-year-old daughter that her brother was in hospital with her father. However, when his release was denied and he remained in custody for eight days, he was forced to explain what had actually happened to her during a FaceTime video call from his cell.
The three-year-old boy is described by his relatives as a “deeply loved”, “special” and “calm” child who “brought joy to everyone around him”.
Also read: Paphos: Father heads to UK to attend funeral of 3-year-old son
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