Stop dragging your feet — make decisions swiftly

Opinion corruptionpresident anastasiades Stop dragging your feet — make decisions swiftly President Anastasiades Relevant News Clinging to their chairs… 25 June 2026 Stop dragging your feet — make decisions swiftly 25 June 2026 The truth about the report cannot wait 25 June 2026 Aristos Michaelides 25 June 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Those who argue that, to ensure impartiality in the investigations following the Independent Authority Against Corruption’s report, a private public prosecutor should be appointed alongside independent criminal investigators are not wrong. The idea is to remove any involvement by the Attorney General or Deputy Attorney General in decision-making or case handling, even ensuring that any case reaching court would be presented by this private prosecutor. This is unusual, but it has precedent — in the Rikkos Erotokritou case, when Costas Clerides recused himself and handed the matter over to private investigators. Today, however, it seems neither the prosecutors nor the government are taking public outrage into account, and rather than simplifying matters, they are making them more convoluted. Savvides and Angelides recused themselves, rightly so. Yet there is now a broader demand for their resignation, creating a political issue, not merely a legal one. It becomes political when the leadership of the Law Office, for various reasons, is unable to manage one of the most serious cases facing the state. By recusing themselves, they passed the decision on how to handle the report to the Prosecutorial Council. The Council, in turn, effectively did nothing, recusing itself and delivering the “closed” report to the Council of Ministers to decide. Does this not create a major political issue when the government is tasked with decisions on a critical case but its legal advisers — the Law Office — are unable to guide it? On the other hand, the Council of Ministers decided it would proceed with the appointment of a team of criminal investigators “as soon as possible,” according to Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis. That is the expected move. But the next step likely will not happen. When asked about appointing a private public prosecutor, Mr Letymbiotis stated, “If I am not mistaken, this is not within the competence of the Council of Ministers. According to the provisions of the law, the Council can appoint independent criminal investigators.” So to whom will the criminal investigators report? Who will present any cases in court? With the Law Office leadership and the Prosecutorial Council recused, who will receive the investigators’ report to decide whether to press charges — the Council of Ministers or the recused Law Office? This is why, as I said at the outset, they are overcomplicating things and failing to reassure an outraged public. Especially in a case that requires clear and swift action. Another layer of confusion has been added: the Authority took a week to send the report to the Law Office, and a week later the Council of Ministers — that is, the President — is still considering what to do. Not a single day should have been wasted. At the very least, it should have signalled decisiveness. P.S: Phileleftheros and I personally received a letter from a law firm regarding my article last Saturday, titled “When corruption reaches judges, what can remain standing?” The letter, sent on behalf of individuals named in the recent Independent Authority Against Corruption report, argued that my article conveys to readers that the events in question have already been proven, and that the “existence of acts of corruption is a given fact.” I must clarify here — although my comments concerned state institutions, such as the functioning of the justice system, and no one else — that I never claimed, nor intended to imply, that any individual named in the report has definitively committed acts of corruption. Respect for the presumption of innocence is absolute, both for Phileleftheros and myself, and this has been repeatedly noted in my recent reporting related to the Authority’s findings. Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Clinging to their chairs… The truth about the report cannot wait Even Trump got angry over ‘rockets and feathers’ Prospecta Development: Paphos shifting to modern community living Wealthy nations reap huge benefits from immigration, study finds Russian woman critical after running naked in Limassol street and testing positive for fentanyl Things to do on Thursday, June 25 Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.