Retired British miner David Hunter was visibily overcome with emotion as he was released from prison after nearly two years for the manslaughter of his seriously ill wife.
Hunter, 76, admitted suffocating Janice, his wife of 52 years, at their home on the island, after she “begged him” to end her life as she suffered from blood cancer.
On Monday, judges at Paphos District Court imposed a two-year jail sentence on Hunter, who has already spent 19 months in custody. His legal team said he had been released shortly after the sentencing when Cypriot prison authorities had officially calculated his release date.
Hunter, 76, admitted suffocating Janice, his wife of 52 years, at their home on the island, after she “begged him” to end her life as she suffered from blood cancer.
On Monday, judges at Paphos District Court imposed a two-year jail sentence on Hunter, who has already spent 19 months in custody. His legal team said he had been released shortly after the sentencing when Cypriot prison authorities had officially calculated his release date.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 I'd like to say thank you to all the people who donated to me, especially my mates, my workmates.
00:06 I didn't know where I would be without them.
00:09 How are you feeling?
00:11 Well, I hope I'm feeling the same as my family when I'm talking about that, I'm talking about all my lads.
00:18 We're all a family. When you work in the country, we're a family.
00:22 Thank you very much. I'm happy to take any questions if you've got any questions about the proceedings.
00:26 In comparison to the UK, David's a bit of a problem in the UK, which has been so very different.
00:31 Can you report on that?
00:33 The law in the UK is different to the law here in Cyprus.
00:36 Of course, there is a defence when there is a suicide pact to murder,
00:40 but we think the decision the court's come to, both in finding him not guilty of murder,
00:44 which is very important because he would have spent the rest of his life in prison here in Cyprus,
00:48 was the right decision. We think the decision on sentence was the right decision today,
00:52 which of course allows David to walk out of court.
00:55 We're very pleased with the decisions the court has made in this case,
00:58 and it follows everything we've been saying all along about the circumstances behind this case.
01:02 It's obviously a very tragic case and not an easy case for anyone involved to deal with,
01:07 but we think the right decision has been made.
01:09 Your message to people back in Northumberland, they're gathering for you this morning, David.
01:12 No, not... I'll sort myself out first, and then I'll talk to them.
01:17 I think it's been such a long, long journey for you, David. How do you start to feel right now?
01:23 It's hard to imagine if you can't...
01:26 I won't describe it. Sorry. I wish I could. I wish I had fine words to describe it.
01:31 Thank you.
01:32 We don't have pressure for two years.
01:34 We're going to do David himself.
01:36 Just one sec.
01:38 Thank you very much.