Attorney-general Costas Clerides on Tuesday received a request to allow a high ranking official from the European Space Agency (ESA), Julio Monreal, who is due to stand trial on the island after being charged for causing a fatal road accident, to leave the country for business reasons.
State broadcaster CyBC reported that Monreal, 60, who is the Project Manager of the ESA’s Ariane 5 Operational Launch System, was ordered by the court to remain on the island following the road accident in July in the Limassol area.
Monreal’s rental car had veered into the opposite lane and collided with another car. An 82-year old woman in the other car died and her husband, 86, was seriously injured.
Monreal was ordered to remain on the island until the end of the trial, to hand in his documents, and present himself at a police station daily.
During a court hearing on Tuesday, his lawyer asked that his restrictions change, since as the project manager of Ariane 5, he has to be in France ten day before and ten days after September 30, for the launch of a spacecraft. If he is not present, the launch risks being cancelled, the court heard.
The prosecution objected saying that during a previous hearing the court heard that Monreal had immunity in France and should be allowed to return, there would be no way to force him to come back to Cyprus.
The decision now lies with the attorney-general.
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