With the submissions of the Legal Service and the defence, proceedings continued before the Supreme Court regarding the lifting of the parliamentary immunity of former president of EDEK and MP Marinos Sizopoulos.
It is recalled that during the first hearing, the legal representatives of Mr Sizopoulos informed the court that they would not object to the request submitted by the Legal Service.
At the beginning of the procedure, Assistant Attorney General Savvas Angelides, speaking on behalf of the Legal Service, stated that they adopt the sworn statement and the written submission filed on 13 March. He stressed that the conditions set by case law for granting such permission by the Supreme Court are satisfied. He added that “we request that the procedure be allowed to proceed as it would for any other citizen of the Republic”.
For his part, Chris Triantafyllides, lawyer for Marinos Sizopoulos, reiterated that they have no objection to the application for the lifting of immunity.
“Our firm disagreement concerns the facts of the case and any attempt to attribute criminal responsibility.”
Mr Triantafyllides noted that they do not raise an objection, as Mr Sizopoulos does not wish to receive any different treatment from that which any other citizen of the Republic would receive. He also added that his side regrets that the matter had not progressed earlier, stating that the case had been brought before the police authorities as early as 2019 by Mr Sizopoulos himself.
After the completion of the submissions from both sides, the President of the Supreme Court, Katerina Stamatiou, announced a short recess, stating that the Court would return with its decision.
Following the brief recess, the Court issued its decision to lift the immunity of Mr Sizopoulos.
As stated in the decision, the application of the Attorney General is based on genuine grounds that require immediate investigation. The principles of the rule of law dictate equality before the law and equal citizenship, while the principle of immunity serves the public interest.