The Attorney General of the Republic George Savvides has given former Auditor General Odysseas Michaelides a “second” and final chance, deciding not to bring criminal charges against him over his statements and posts concerning the Supreme Constitutional Court. Although the Legal Service found sufficient evidence to file a contempt of court case, the view ultimately prevailed that, under the circumstances, it would not be appropriate to pursue prosecution.
The Attorney General issued a strongly worded statement on Thursday, explaining the decision not to prosecute former Auditor General Odysseas Michaelides despite finding sufficient grounds to do so.
The case, the AG noted, was triggered by remarks Michaelides made on 20 May 2025 during a televised interview, where he questioned the independence and impartiality of the Council of the Supreme Constitutional Court. “These statements caused justified concern and sparked wide public debate,” the announcement said, “prompting the Council itself to intervene publicly and call on Mr. Michaelides to provide evidence to support his claims.”
According to the statement, the Police invited Michaelides to testify and submit any material he might have, in line with the State’s duty both to safeguard the integrity of institutions and to respect freedom of expression. “However, further investigation proved impossible, as his claims remained unsupported by any evidence capable of substantiating them,” the AG stressed.
The Attorney General rejected Michaelides’ argument that the Council was not a “court” within the meaning of the law. “In our judgment, the Supreme Constitutional Court, acting in its capacity as a Council under Article 153.8 of the Constitution, is indeed a court in the substantive and functional sense of the term,” the statement read. “Its decisions are binding even on the President of the Republic, and therefore it cannot be regarded as a mere consultative or administrative body.”
On the substance of Michaelides’ remarks, the Attorney General said: “His statements and posts contained grave insinuations about the lack of independence, impartiality and legality of the judicial process and the judges themselves” “In particular, his claim that the outcome of the decision concerning his dismissal was known in advance constitutes a clear challenge to the impartiality and independence of the Council and its judges”, the announcement added.
The AG also pointed to Michaelides’ reference to a state official allegedly linked to the President of the Republic, which “creates the impression that the Council and its judges were involved in supposed political collusion in a ‘rigged’ trial.” His claim that the decision was not 8–0 but 12–0, counting the President, the former President, the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General among the “deciders,” was described as a “serious insinuation of conspiracy and external interference.”
“Through his stance, Mr. Michaelides demonstrated a lack of respect both for the institutional office he held and for the authority of the State he served,” the statement continued. “As someone who held a top institutional position, he had an increased duty to speak with responsibility and full substantiation.”
Nevertheless, the AG said the Legal Service weighed the circumstances carefully, noting that Michaelides’ statements had already been widely condemned and that in later public appearances he attempted to backtrack. “From these later remarks, we infer that he acknowledged, at least implicitly, the reprehensible nature of his earlier claims,” the AG said.
“We decided not to prosecute Mr. Michaelides. Our decision not to proceed constitutes a second chance for him, but it is accompanied by an explicit warning that any recurrence of similar conduct or repetition of the same unsubstantiated and offensive allegations against the Judiciary will not be tolerated.”
Michaelides: “You will not silence me”
In a post on social media, the leader of the Alma movement, Odysseas Michaelides, responded to the Attorney General’s statement.
“It was expected: there was neither contempt nor a court,” Michaelides insisted, reiterating that his lawyer Achilleas Emilianides’ position remains that the Council which dismissed him “is not a court under Article 44(1)(e) of Law 14/60.”
He added: “What I told investigators, under his legal guidance, remains my position.”
The former Auditor General accused the Attorney General of “waging a relentless fight” against him since 2020, claiming that the AG “thinks he will appear magnanimous,” but “he is judged by the people.”
“One thing is certain: throughout my career I have defended justice and truth, regardless of personal cost, and that is how I will continue,” concluded the leader of Alma.
