(1987)1987June23 [TRIANTAFYLUDES,Ρ,LORIS,STVUANIDES.JJ) GREGORIS SIMOU GREGORIOU AND OTHERS, Appellants, ν THE REPUBLIC, Respondent (Cnminal Appeal Nos 4842,4843,4844) Sentence — Abduction of pnson warder and escape from lawful custody — Appellants fell into the hands of Turkishsoldiersand were detained in the Turkish occupied part of Cypws — Subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment — Nine months' impnsonment to run after expiration of the sentence, whicheach of the appellantswasalreadyserving—Such sentence isinthe circumstanceswrongmpnnctpte — Sentence set aside The three appellants, who were serving at the time vanous sentences of impnsonment abducted apnsonwarder by locking himintoabathroomand escaped to the Turkish occupied area of the Republic, where they were subjected by Turkish soldiers and policeman to degrading and inhuman treatment repeatedly 5 IU These appeals are directed against theaforesaid sentences Held, allowingthe appeals
(1)Nomatter how senous were the offences which the appellants committed, they were punished much more severely than itcouldever be envisaged bytheCnminalCodeduetotheinhumanand 1 5 degrading mannerinwhich they were treated by theircaptors intheTurkish occupied area of Cyprus Thesentence iswrong inpnnciple
(2)The exceptional course of setting the sentences aside is in the circumstances justified Appeals allowed Appeals againstsentence. Appeals against sentence by Gregons Simon Gregonou and Others who were convicted on the 28th January, 1987 at the AssizeCourtofNicosia (CnminalCaseNo 570/87) ononecount of theoffence of abducting apnson warder contrarytosections 25 212 20 2 C.L.R. Gregoriouv. Police 247,250and20oftheCriminalCode,Cap.154andonone count ofthe offence of escaping from lawful custody contrary tosection 128(a) of the Criminal Code, Cap. 154 and were sentenced by Nikitas,P.D.C.,Laoutas,S.D.J,and Michaelides, D.J.toeighteen 5 months' imprisonment on each count to run concurrently after theexpiryoftheprisonsentenceswhichwerebeingservedbythe appellants atthe time. E.Efstathiou withSp. Efstathiou,for the appellants. 10 R. Gavrielides, Senior Counsel of the Republic with St loannidou, forthe respondent. TRIANTAFYLLIDES P. gave the following judgment of the Court. The three appellantswere on 28January 1987 convicted, on their own pleasof guilty,of the offences of abducting a prison warderandofescapingfrom lawful custody.Theyweresentenced 15 to terms of eighteen months' imprisonment for each of the aforesaid offences to run concurrently and to be served after the expiry of prison sentences which were being served by the appellants atthetime. Actually on 28 January 1987 appellant Gregoris Gregoriou 20 (appellantincriminal appeal No.4842) wasservinga sentenceof nine months' imprisonment as from 5 June 1986, appellant Demetris Gavriel (appellant in criminal appeal No. 4843) was serving a sentence of four years' imprisonment as from 9 July, 1986,andappellantNicosSolomou (appellantinCriminalAppeal 25 No. 4844) was serving a sentence of two years' imprisonment as from 7July 1986. On30July 1986theabductionofthewardertookplace within thecompoundoftheCentralPrisonsbyremovinghimfrom where he was in one of the blocks of the prison and locking him into a 30 bathroom;and hisabductionwaspartoftheplanoftheappellants to effect their escape from the Central Prisons, which followed immediatelyafterwards onthesame day. Asthe Central Prisonsaresituated nexttothe lineoccupied by Turkish military forces, which have invaded Cyprus in 1974 and 35 continue to occupy the northern part of our country, the three appellants fell into the hands of Turkish soldiers and were detained in the Turkish occupied part of Cyprus, from where appellant Gregoriou wasreleased inAugust 1986and appellants Gavrieland Solomou inNovember 1986. 213 Triantafyllldes P. Gregoriou v. Police
(1987)Allthree appellants were brutally ill-treated byTurkish soldiers and policemen intheTurkish occupied partofCypruswhile they were detained there and were subject todegrading and inhuman treatment continuouslyand repeatedly. Appellant Gregoriou'was released from the Turkish occupied area earlier because, due towhat he suffered there, he fell intoa comatose condition "and he was rushed by United Nations peacekeeping troops to Nicosia General Hospital where it took him seven wholedaystoregainhissensesand hisspeech. 5 Allthe appellants are youngpersonseighteen, twenty-twoand 10 twenty years old respectively and, according to social investigation reports, ever since they have returned back to the Central Prisons,after theirrelease from theTurkishoccupied part ofCyprus,theyareindustrious,obedientandco-operativeand,in general, their conduct inprison isverysatisfactory. 15 We do not think that this is an ordinary case in which the sentences of imprisonment which were imposed on 28 January 1987 on the appellants, to be served after the expiry of the sentences which they were then serving in prison for other offences, are to be examined, in the normal course, by us an 20 appellate tribunal in order to find whether they are manifestly excessive in the light of theseriousness of the offences for which the appellants have been punished by means of such sentences and in the light, too, of the mitigating circumstances regarding each one of theappellants. 25 Weare of the opinion that it waswrong in principle to impose onthesethree youngappellantssentencesofimprisonmentto be servedafter theexpiryofthesentenceswhichtheywereservingat thetime,because no matterhowseriouswerethe offences which they committed they were punished much more severely than it 30 couldeverbeenvisaged bytheCriminalCodeduetotheinhuman anddegradingmannerinwhichtheyweretreatedbytheircaptors intheTurkish occupied area of Cyprus. We have, therefore, decided in thisreally unprecedented case to take the exceptional course of setting aside the sentences 35 passed on the appellants, so that they willbe released after they willcompletetheirprisonsentenceswhichtheywereservingatthe timewhen theywere sentenced bythetrial Court. Appeals allowed. 214