The Attorney General of the Republic Mr. George Savvidis and the Assistant Attorney General of the Republic Mr. Savvas Angelides listened today to the Christmas carols at the Legal Service by the Cyprus Police Philharmonic and the National Guard Philharmonic.
Subsequently, in his statements to journalists regarding what is being said about the complaints of the Prisons Directorate and the Aimylianides conclusion, the Attorney General of the Republic Mr. George Savvidis said that "What we had to say we said very clearly in the statement we gave to the press. Every person has the right, within the framework of the law, to express his opinion. It is a right that is fully respected and we listen to the views of all those who choose to take a position on the matter."
Asked about information indicating different conclusions in Mr. Emilianides' conclusion compared to those in the Legal Service's statement, Savvidis said that "I believe that those conclusions of Mr. Emilianides that we mentioned were clear, they were specific, and I have already seen statements by Mr. Aimylianides in a daily newspaper yesterday, in which he said that his conclusions have been accurately reported in the statement of the Legal Service."
Then, asked to comment on the fact that Mr. Aimylianides refuted those statements and said it was a misinterpretation, the Attorney General said "I have not heard what Mr. Aimylianides has said. I have only seen one statement which, as yesterday's newspaper reported, was a personal statement by Mr. Emilianides that he agreed with our report on his conclusions. What we said about what Mr Aimylianides said I believe was perfectly accurate. Certainly, we could not, in a two-page statement, reproduce the conclusion, the entire 660 pages or so of Mr Aimylianides' report, but I believe we reproduced that part of it which related to the context on which we based our decision."
In response to another question as to whether the conclusions were those of the Legal Service or of Mr. Emilianides, the Attorney General replied that "If you read our statement carefully you will see that where we wanted to make reference to what Mr. Emilianides said we did so and on that basis we have stated his position and our position. The other things that we write and do not mention are conclusions of Mr Aimylianides, they are not conclusions of Mr Aimylianides."
Asked to comment on AKEL's accusation of the government's instrumentalisation of the Legal Service, the Attorney General said that "I am really surprised by AKEL's statement. I do not want and it is not generally appropriate in my role, even in these days, to enter into a confrontation with AKEL. I limit myself to simply rejecting this allegation and of course it can be understood that there is absolutely no way that even this allegation can be valid. The Legal Service acts as an independent service, as such it acted and acted on the basis of what it considered to be the right thing to do based on the scientific data before it."
In response to another question, in relation to a statement by the former Attorney General that the Attorney General must fully justify his decision regarding the invocation of the public interest, Mr. Savvidis said that "As I have said before, the opinion of anyone, including the former Attorney General, is respected, and I have said that we live in a country where everyone is free to express their opinion and this is something that characterises us and is an advantage. We believe that we have fully justified, in the statement that we made, our positions and I believe that by studying it, reference is also made to the explanation that led to the decision that we took." In addition, he said that "Above all is the administration of justice. It is just that justice is administered in different ways. The constitution determines who has what powers, and everyone acts within their powers, and within those powers we acted. I believe that if you read the last few paragraphs of our written statement, there is a clear indication of what led us to the decision we took and of course that at the same time we will forward the case to the competent authority for the examination of any disciplinary responsibilities."
Asked about developments in the investigations into Thanasis' case, the Attorney General said that "We recently had a meeting with the family and there was a review of where the whole matter stands. There is a time frame within which the police are obliged, based on the instructions I gave them, to give me a report on where the matter stands. The time is approaching when the Police will have to do this, and I am awaiting the final report of this stage of the investigation."
(NG)
Contents of this article including associated images are owned by PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
Source
