A lawsuit has been filed against Makarios Drousiotis by the son-in-law of the former President and businessman Yiannis Misirlis, because his name appeared in certain messages which Makarios Drousiotis made public through his testimony. The lawsuit was served last week.
After a 12-day pursuit, Nikos Anastasiades was also served with a lawsuit. It was filed by Makarios Drousiotis through his lawyer Lito Kariole and concerns his book Slanderer. According to the lawyer, several thousand defamatory statements have been identified in the book, for which Drousiotis is seeking substantial damages from the former President.
Meanwhile, in relation to this case, Drousiotis’ legal team is preparing to appeal to the EU and request that the matter be investigated by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Andros Kyprianou is right to say that the Attorney General is appointed by the sitting President of the Republic, as happened in 2020 with the appointment of Giorgos Savvidis by Nikos Anastasiades. On the other hand, it is also acknowledged that for AKEL the appointment of Ionas Nicolaou to this position was a casus belli, and the party made this clear to Anastasiades.
Thus, Giorgos Savvidis emerged as a compromise solution and, yes, AKEL was aware of this and, yes, it was relieved and satisfied, as it preferred someone far more moderate as Attorney General, given that Ionas was considered part of the “deep state” of the Right. For this reason, AKEL issued a statement declaring its readiness to cooperate with him.
We recall that on 24 June 2020 AKEL issued the following statement:
“AKEL wishes every success to the new Attorney General and the new Assistant Attorney General in the admittedly difficult task they undertake. On the occasion of the appointments of Mr Savvidis and Mr Angelides, we express our readiness for cooperation and, as in every case, we will judge them by their work. It is our firm position that independent institutions have an important role to play in the Cypriot state. In particular, the Law Office has a crucial role in the effort to restore institutions and uphold the rule of law in Cyprus.”
On the same day, the Chief of Police Stelios Papatheodorou was also appointed, with whom AKEL clearly disagreed, describing the appointment in the same statement as “prearranged”.
Some say that people will go to prison once the investigation into the “Sandy” case is completed. Rumours suggest that, following the investigation, “Sandy” herself may be arrested, as initially indicated by the sworn statement of the investigating officer when a search of Nikos Clerides’ home was requested, since she is under investigation for fabricating and disseminating false news.
She, however, claims that she fabricated the news but did not distribute it anywhere. Others argue that she admitted to creating fake news because she was blackmailed and her life is in danger. If the documents prove genuine, arrests will concern others identified as “Rosicrucians”. If they are fake, then proceedings will begin against journalist Drousiotis, lawyer Nikos Clerides, and former Attorney General Costas Clerides, who made public use of at least some of these documents.
It has been confirmed that “Sandy” worked through the Human Resource Development Authority at the Nicosia post office under Andreas Gregoriou from 14 October 2017 to 14 April 2018. A reliable postal source described her as a shy and quiet individual, expressing surprise at how she could have “constructed”, according to her statement, so many messages and entangled so many prominent figures in them.
ELAM has removed its candidate in Paphos, Kyriakos Savva, from its ballot for disciplinary reasons. According to information, his exclusion is related to his involvement in the ecclesiastical issue in Paphos. He is said to have actively participated in organising protest events in support of former Metropolitan Tychikos of Paphos, something ELAM had prohibited, instructing its members not to become involved in religious disputes.
ELAM does this for two reasons. First, because, as with all fascist parties, half its members are religious and the other half are atheists; and second, because the religious members do not want to fall out with the official Church, which had removed Tychikos.
In the end, when there is political will, things move quickly. The Minister of the Interior, Constantinos Ioannou, gave a 24-hour deadline to the Famagusta district administration to demolish an illegal structure placed on coastal state land in Protaras, where an unlicensed massage business had been operating for three years. The structure, located within the beach protection zone, was demolished the following day.
You might say it’s nothing significant, as it was only a temporary structure. On the other hand, it serves as an example for both small and large-scale illegalities: when authorities want to act, violations can be removed overnight.
It is not known whether Maria Panayiotou will still be Minister of Agriculture in July. What is certain is that if she is not, she will be a secondary school philology teacher. As previously reported, she has accepted a permanent teaching position and will wait until July.
Why July? After the parliamentary elections and the end of Cyprus’ EU presidency, “Little Richelieu”, depending on the election results, will proceed with a cabinet reshuffle. Of course, we mention this not to prompt it, as our “Little President” does not reshuffle because the media suggest it. He follows the Clerides doctrine—reshuffles happen when he decides, not under instruction.
In any case, Christodoulides would like to reshuffle in order to load the government with DISY members. To achieve this, DISY would need to perform poorly - below 21%, possibly even behind AKEL. Towards this end, he is said to be working tirelessly in favour of ELAM, although he does not wish to cooperate with them officially, as that would risk expulsion from the European People’s Party. Weber has already shown him a “yellow card” after learning that his allies had filled ELAM’s ballots with their own candidates.
If DISY performs badly, the plan is simple: Annita will be removed, Lefteris will return from Luxembourg to take over as leader with Diplaros beside him, and five “useful idiots” will be found to serve as ministers for Christodoulides. In such a scenario, Maria Panayiotou would have no place in the government. It would be a DISY–DIKO government with covert ELAM backing, working towards the 2028 presidential elections—with one small detail: DISY would have split into two parties.
The Holy Synod awarded Nikiforos of Kykkos the highest ecclesiastical distinction, honouring his wide-ranging pastoral and social work with the Gold Medal of the Apostle Barnabas. Nikiforos is a traditional hierarch who knows how to stand by his flock in his own Cypriot way. He is imposing—almost monumental—and clearly wishes to leave a legacy.
Look at his Metropolis, the churches and monasteries—everything shines. Consider the institutions he runs, such as the research centre, publications, and restoration workshop for old texts. This is service to culture and the country’s history. Listen also to the sublime sound of the Byzantine music school he operates.
At the same time, despite the Byzantine grandeur (admittedly somewhat ornate), he remains close to ordinary people without burdening them with foolish religiosity. He is among those who believe you win a soul through a good game of ping pong rather than forcing it to venerate bones and shoes of supposed saints.