PAPHOS, Cyprus (AP) — A British man on Tuesday pleaded guilty to a charge of negligence in the fatal fall of his 3-year-old son from a hotel window during a family vacation at a resort in Cyprus.
He sat quietly in the courtroom’s rear seats with his mother and father, while his lawyer entered the plea on his behalf.
The 37-year-old defendant, who The Associated Press isn’t naming in accordance with local law, will again appear in court on Oct. 5 for mitigation and sentencing, Paphos District Court judge Froso Christodoulides said. Cypriot law prohibits a defendant from being named before this occurs in court proceedings.
The man's lawyer, Alexandros Alexandrou, said he would ask the court to lift travel restrictions against his client so that he can rejoin his wife and 5-year-old daughter in the U.K. until sentencing.
The court last month allowed the defendant to attend his son’s funeral back in the U.K.
The defendant and his family were reportedly a few days into their vacation at Cyprus’ southwestern resort town of Paphos in July when the boy fell from the hotel’s fourth-floor window.
The circumstances of the fall remain unclear.
Alexandrou said his client decided to plead guilty late Monday to the single charge of causing death due to negligent and careless actions, primarily to avoid a lengthy trial and spare his family from reliving the circumstances of the boy's death with detailed evidence presented in court.
A long trial would mean that the man is “again a victim of this tragedy,” Alexandrou said after the hearing.
“The most important thing for him is to return to his family,” he said, adding the fall was ultimately an accident.
The charge carries a maximum of four years’ imprisonment and a minimum of a fine. Alexandrou told The Associated Press the court should take into account previous similar cases in which defendants received a fine or a suspended sentence.
A judge can suspend a sentence if a defendant is sentenced to three years’ imprisonment or less.
Cyprus Attorney General George Savvides last week denied a request to drop the case on humanitarian grounds.
Alexandrou said he would appeal any sentence that gives his client the maximum penalty. The lawyer refused to give any details about his client's identity, saying even authorities have avoided mentioning the man's name in court.
Cyprus, a former British colony, is very popular with tourists from the U.K., who make up a significant portion of the roughly 4 million holidaymakers the island nation received in the last few years.
Police officers stand by police vehicles at the courthouse complex in the southwest coastal city of Paphos, Cyprus, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
SANO, Japan (AP) — Japan nearly pulled off one of the major upsets in international T20 cricket as it celebrated 75 years of friendship with reigning world champion India on Tuesday.
The match was hosted as part of an agreement reached during a summit between Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to mark the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relationship.
It was delayed nearly three hours, first by the late arrival of match officials and the Indian team due to traffic and then by a wet outfield. The match was then reduced to five overs per side as Japan gave the three-time world champions a royal scare before falling two runs short.
“The attitude and approach the Japanese team showed today was impeccable and kudos to them,” said Indian captain Shreyas Iyer.
“Their approach was outstanding. So I’m sure that they are on the right track right now and they’ve got a couple more matches against Afghanistan and Nepal (at the Asian Games), they would be brilliant.”
India opted to bat and finished 32-4 in its five overs, with Iyer scoring 16 off 12 balls. Japan’s Charlie Hara-Hinze, a 17-year-old left-arm spinner, etched his name in the history books by getting Abhishek Sharma out for a duck and also dismissing Iyer.
Axar Patel and Washington Sundar then held their own to defend India’s low score. Skipper Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming scored 12 runs before getting dismissed in the fourth over as Japan finished 30-3.
In a tense last over with Japan needing eight for victory, umpires overturned one of the two wide-ball decisions as left-handed batter Alexander Shirai-Patmore kept on trying to switch hit against Patel’s down the leg-side deliveries.
When umpire Chris Thurgate of Japan signaled a second wide ball that brought down the target to five runs off four balls, Indian players protested. Square leg umpire Chris Brown of New Zealand intervened and convinced Thurgate to overturn his wide-ball decision.
Despite the defeat, it was a heroic effort from the 41st-ranked Japanese team against the biggest team in world cricket.
“I’ve been saying to a few other guys that when (the game) gets that close, (the loss is) actually a little bit tougher to take and the emotions are running pretty high in our group,” Kadowaki-Fleming said.
“But the fact that we were able to run the best team in the world, in my opinion, to the last ball of a game is pretty special.”
See AP’s full cricket coverage here
A group dances during a pre-game ceremony before the India vs Japan Suzuki Cup T20 cricket match in Sano, Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, marking 75 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. (AP Photo/Tomohiro Ohsumi)
Fans of India cheer before the India vs Japan Suzuki Cup T20 cricket match in Sano, Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, marking 75 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. (AP Photo/Tomohiro Ohsumi)
Japan's players celebrate a Indian wicket during the Suzuki Cup T20 cricket match in Sano, Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, marking 75 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. (AP Photo/Tomohiro Ohsumi)
India's Sanju Samson bats against Japan during the Suzuki Cup T20 cricket match in Sano, Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, marking 75 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. (AP Photo/Tomohiro Ohsumi)
