Handwriting expert called in to usurpation trial

A handwriting expert testifying in a criminal trial on Monday stated categorically that the defendant – a German woman facing charges of fraudulently transacting in real estate – did not fill out the entire consent form authorising police to search her belongings.

Marios Markides, a witness summoned by the defence, was testifying in the ‘trial within a trial’ of Ewa Isabella Kunzel, a real estate agent accused of the ‘usurpation’ of Greek Cypriot properties in the north of the island.

The ‘trial within a trial’ is being held to determine whether police lawfully arrested Kunzel at Larnaca airport in July 2024. Police took her into custody after searching her luggage once she had filled out a consent form. The defence maintains that she did not in fact consent.

The first hearings in the court case began in March this year.

The 49-year-old defendant faces a total of 44 counts on multiple charges, including fraudulent transactions in real estate belonging to another person, money laundering, and illegal possession and use of land.

Kunzel has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

The point of contention at this stage revolves around whether the handwriting on the consent form belongs to Kunzel.

Markides said his own handwriting analysis shows that whereas the defendant may have filled out some fields on the consent form, she did not fill out other fields – someone else must have done it.

The witness contested the findings of the police’s handwriting expert, who had concluded all the handwriting on the consent form was Kunzel’s.

Markides said the police’s analysis was deficient in that it had focused on certain handwriting attributes. By contrast, he used a comparative analysis, using 27 samples of the defendant’s handwriting to compare it to the questioned handwriting on the consent form.

His own conclusions were unequivocal: Kunzel had filled in some fields on the consent form, but for others she did not.

The next hearing in the trial is set for Wednesday, when Markides will be cross-examined by the state prosecutor. Also on Wednesday, the defence is expected to summon its last witness, completing the ‘trial within the trial’.

A subsequent hearing has been set for July 16.

The case came to light after the real estate agent reportedly spoke about selling property in the north to an off-duty police officer during an inbound flight to Cyprus. The officer then told a colleague, and an investigation was launched.