Fisherman to face holiday HIV charge

Greek Cypriot authorities are to prosecute a local fisherman who allegedly knowingly infected a British woman with HIV while she was on holiday.

Attorney-General Alexander Markides said criminal charges would be pressed against Paul Georgiou for passing the virus to Janette Pink, a mother of two from Basildon, Essex. Mrs Pink claims she contracted the illness through a holiday romance with Mr Georgiou, 39, and now has only two or three years to live.

Mr Markides said Mr Georgiou would be prosecuted for "negligently transmitting a contagious disease".

The prosecution will be the first time the law has been used in Cyprus. If convicted, Mr Georgiou faces up to two years in jail and pounds 1,500 fine, although he may be too ill to complete his punishment.