Former Justice Minister and current Presidential Commissioner Marios Hartzsiotis had for months been using police officers assigned to the Presidential Palace to act as drivers, while also using a state limousine for personal travel.
After the matter was reported to the Audit Office and the Auditor General formally sought explanations from the Presidential Palace, Hartzsiotis was required to comply with existing legislation and use the state limousine exclusively for official purposes.
Rather than ending the practice of providing police officers to Hartzsiotis, however, the Presidential Palace subsequently formalised the arrangement.
As previously reported by Politis, from Thursday the Presidential Commissioner has been assigned one police inspector and one police officer, who will work shifts as his escort and driver.
The circumstances indicate, according to the report, that the two officers were assigned not because of an identified security threat to Hartzsiotis but because of his need for a driver.
Justice Minister seeks explanations
The decision to provide Hartzsiotis with police protection appears inconsistent with instructions issued only days earlier by Justice Minister Costas Fitiris, who told police that protection details should be provided only to individuals facing a genuine security risk.
The assignment of the two officers was not a decision taken by Fitiris, nor had he been aware of it.
He consequently sought explanations from the police leadership after learning about the arrangement on Wednesday following the publication of the Politis report.
Ministerial and commissioner protection details under review
According to Politis, Fitiris has instructed that police protection arrangements for ministers, deputy ministers and commissioners be reassessed this week.
Protection provided to private citizens will be reviewed next week.
Where no genuine security concern is identified, police protection will be withdrawn.
A similar approach was taken in recent days with former presidents of the House of Representatives and former First Ladies Androulla Vassiliou and Elsi Christofia, whose protection details were removed.
Hartzsiotis case to face same criteria
Hartzsiotis' newly assigned police protection will be assessed through exactly the same procedure and according to the same criteria applying to everyone else.
Consequently, if the review concludes that the Presidential Commissioner does not face a security risk warranting police protection, the transfers of the two officers assigned to him will be revoked.
This means Hartzsiotis could lose the two officers within days of being assigned them, depending on the outcome of the security assessment.
