Cypriot denies Aids negligence

Cypriot fisherman Pavlos Georgiou denied yesterday that he negligently infected his ex-British girlfriend Janette Pink with Aids.

Giving evidence at the resumed hearing in the Cyprus court, Mr Georgiou claimed that Mrs Pink insisted on having sex while accepting the fact he was HIV positive. Describing the first time he had sex with Mrs Pink without a condom, Georgiou said: "I insisted on using a condom, but she was against it and we had free sex."

She said unprotected intercourse first took place on 23 April 1994, which was Mrs Pink's birthday. He said they had been drinking and went back to her place.

"I was lying on the bed with my hands outstretched, I was not myself. She took the condom off me and in a flash she was on top of me. I couldn't control myself ... And still to this day, that moment bothers me."

His lawyer, Tassos Economou, asked Mr Georgiou what he thought about Mrs Pink in bed. "She was very ... she said she had never met anybody like me."

In the landmark case, Mr Georgiou, who had a two and a half year relationship with Mrs Pink, is charged with knowingly infecting her with Aids. Mrs Pink has given testimony saying that he hid the fact he had Aids and failed to use a condom while having sex.

The case continues.