The Sandy case is entering its final investigative phase, with attention now turning to the decisions that will determine what happens next. The core of the police inquiry has been completed and the investigative team at police headquarters has a clear picture of the case, but is waiting on forensic results from Europol and a report from an FBI team before the file is considered complete.
Once those outstanding elements arrive, the file will be submitted to the Law Office, which will decide whether to initiate criminal proceedings against any individuals. That decision is being followed with considerable public interest. The Law Office has been kept informed of the investigation's progress throughout, but final decisions will only be taken after the full file has been studied and assessed. If the evidence is deemed sufficient to support charges, the Law Office will then decide whether to file indictments and whether arrests will follow. Charging individuals without arresting them also remains an option.
Based on the pace of the investigation, and though no official confirmation has come from police, the inquiry could be completed and the file submitted to the Law Office as early as next week. The police chief will first be briefed on the findings and the force's recommendations, and will in turn inform Justice Minister Marios Fytiris.
Calls for independent investigators
Lawyer Nikos Clerides, speaking on Sigma TV's Protoselido programme, renewed his position that independent criminal investigators should have been appointed from the outset. "From the very first moment, independent criminal investigators should have been appointed, who would have immediately proceeded to search and seize the original mobile phones of the judge and Sandy, on which the disputed SMS messages were stored. This did not happen, and the police should answer why it did not," he said. Clerides also raised questions about the handling of the investigation more broadly, arguing that search and seizure warrants for the phones of both the judge and Sandy should have been issued from the beginning. He added that he has never agreed with the public disclosure of the messages and that he is opposed in general to targeting individuals without full documentation.
