Cyprus court postpones trial of 9 Britons in brawl

A Cyprus court postponed the trial of nine British soldiers accused of going on a rampage in a holiday resort after their defence lawyer said he would challenge the grounds of their arrest.

The nine soldiers face charges of criminal damage and disturbing the peace, while two among them face charges of actual bodily harm and one faces charges of grievous bodily harm. The court postponed the trial until July 3. They have pleaded not guilty to the charges, which all carry custodial sentences under Cypriot law of between two and five years jail.

The defendants are accused of attacking locals and causing some 6,000 euros in damage to a pub in the Ayia Napa holiday resort on February 2.

"One of our lines of defence will be based on the position that there was an illegal arrest of the accused," defence lawyer Andreas Charalambous told a district court. He said he planned to challenge the arrest based on witness accounts on the identification procedure followed prior to the defendants being taken into custody.

Britain has two military bases in Cyprus, a British colony until independence in 1960.

The defendants are members of the Second Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers which has since departed from Cyprus, though the soldiers will remain on the island until the outcome of the case.

In addition to the criminal case, the soldiers also face civil action from plaintiffs seeking up to 5.0 million euros in damages.

Cyprus police had at the time said they had eyewitness accounts of a larger group of around 20 individuals engaged in the early-morning brawl at the resort. One individual from the same regiment as the defendants suffered severe head injuries after being attacked with a baseball bat.