Braintree MP holds meeting on conviction of Witham residents with Cypriot diplomat

Braintree MP Brooks Newmark today held a meeting with Mr. Dimitris Hatziargyrou, the Cypriot Acting High Commissioner to the UK to highlight his concerns about the conviction of Luke Atkinson and Michael Binnington in Cyprus. The two men's UK lawyer Karen Todner and Saima Hirji from Fair Trials International also attended the meeting at the House of Commons.

Luke and Michael were passengers in a car driven by their uncle, Julian Harrington, which hit a moped, seriously wounding the driver and killing his passenger. They were acquitted by a lower court last year but the decision was overturned by the Cyprus Supreme Court on 29th January 2007 following an appeal by Cypriot prosecutors. They were due to be sentenced today but the date of the hearing has now been postponed to the 4th of April.

Mr. Newmark has written to the Foreign Secretary calling for the Government's intervention in the case and is due to hold a debate in the House of Commons tomorrow afternoon which will be answered by Home Office Minister Meg Hillier MP.

Mr. Newmark said after the meeting, "I am grateful to the Acting High Commissioner for agreeing to meet with me and for his willingness to discuss our many concerns about this case. I am confident that he will convey those concerns to the Cypriot authorities, although I do understand that as a representative of the executive he cannot interfere with the independence of the Cypriot judiciary.

"I am pleased that we have, at the very least, been able to shine a spotlight on Luke and Michael's case and it is good news that their sentencing hearing has been delayed. However, the fact remains that to overturn an acquittal without a retrial is extremely unusual, even in the Third World, not to mention in a Western democracy. The acquittal was overturned because of a prosecution appeal and the decision to initiate the appeal was ultimately executive and political, not judicial.

"I look forward to tomorrow's debate with the Minister and I hope that the Government will continue to give Luke and Michael the support that they need to secure a just outcome.