Cypriot court frees Britons in hit-and-run death

LARNACA, Cyprus, Feb 16 (Reuters) A Cyprus court acquitted two Britons accused of causing the death of a Cypriot teenager at a resort on the holiday island last year.

The three-bench criminal court, in a majority verdict yesterday, cleared Luke Atkinson, 22, and Michael Binnington, 21, of causing the death of high school student Christos Papiris, 17.

Disturbances broke out in the courtroom after the verdicts were read out, involving distraught relatives of the Cypriot teenager. The Britons were escorted out of the court under police protection.

A third man, Julian Harrington, 39, has pleaded guilty. He has not yet been sentenced. His lawyers will enter a mitigation plea on Feb. 20.

The Britons were accused of using their rental car to deliberately and repeatedly ram a moped, killing the Cypriot in the tourist resort of Protaras on Aug. 18 2006.

They could have faced a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if convicted. The court said prosecutors failed to prove the complicity of the two defendants in the incident.

Harrington had been driving the car which hit the teenager, and his co-defendants were passengers.

Police said at the time the incident followed a nightclub brawl involving the Britons and some locals. Papiris was not involved in the brawl.

Reuters AD VP0525