Lawyer Polis Polyviou, appointed by President Demetris Christofias as a single-member commission of inquiry to investigate events which led to the deadly explosion at the Naval Base “Evaggelos Florakis“, on July 11th, 2011, has told CNA that by the end of this week it will be decided whether witnesses will begin to give their testimonies on the incident on August 29 instead of August 22, as initially announced.

He added that such a development would not affect his intention to present the findings of his investigation on September 30. Commission hearings will be open to the public.

The blast at the Naval Base occurred when a cache of seized Iranian munitions blew up on Monday July 11. About 100 containers most packed with gunpowder had been stacked in an open field at the base since 2009. They had been seized from a ship sailing from Iran to Syria, in violation of UN sanctions against Teheran. Thirteen people were killed and dozens injured. The blast badly damaged the islands main power plant, at Vasiliko, resulting in daily power cuts.