At a Nicosia criminal trial over eight patients who lost sight after cataract operations on 13 October 2020, a 67-year-old nurse gave sworn testimony the prosecution says is incriminating. The patients contracted Pseudomonas aeruginosa; the nurse told court staff reused Balanced Salt Solution eye drops and that the machine cassette that should have been changed for each patient was replaced only three times for the ten surgeries that day. Court heard only the fourth and tenth patients, who had new cassettes, did not contract the bacterium.

Defence lawyer Ilias Stefanou strongly challenged parts of her police statement, disputing claims about drop shelf life and theatre disinfection in heated cross-examination; prosecutor Elena Konstantinou raised objections. The nurse said she followed doctors’ instructions, cited training in Greece, and reported her own tests were negative. Cross-examination will continue on Monday; lawyers Ilias Stefanou, Marios Spyrou and Rebekka Athanasiou represent the defendants.