Briton to petition Cyprus court to let him attend funeral of his son who fell from hotel window

PAPHOS, Cyprus -- The lawyer for a British man charged with negligence in his 3-year-old son’s death at a Cyprus hotel said Friday he’ll petition the court to temporarily lift restrictions on his client’s movements so he can join his family for the boy’s funeral back in the United Kingdom.

Lawyer Alexandros Alexandrou said he’ll file the petition next week and the date of the funeral will be set after the court renders its decision by Aug. 7.

The 37-year-old man and his family were reportedly a few days into their vacation at Cyprus’ southwestern resort town of Paphos earlier this month when the boy fell from the hotel’s fourth-floor window.

The circumstances of the fall remain unclear.

The defendant was arrested and charged, but a court released him from detention on condition that he surrender his passport, check in weekly at a police station and post a 20,000-euro ($23,015) bond.

“Clearly this is tragic, it’s a case where anyone who reads it, whether they’re a parent or not, can understand the stress of having lost a child,” Alexandrou told The Associated Press.

“Right now the only issue before the court is for the petition on this humanitarian aspect of the case to be approved so that he can travel for his son’s funeral.”

The lawyer said his client’s wife and 5-year-old son returned home two days ago. The man was joined in court by his parents.

If the petition is approved, the case will likely continue in mid-September after the court closes for the summer break.

Alexandrou said his client was supposed to plead Friday to the charges, but he asked for an adjournment so that he can file the petition.

The lawyer took over the defense on Wednesday after his previous attorney withdrew from the case. He said he needs more time to study the evidence, which the prosecution hasn’t turned over to him yet.