Cyprus Supreme Court lifts MP Marinos Sizopoulos’ parliamentary immunity amid corruption probe

Nicosia, Cyprus. The Supreme Court on Monday lifted the parliamentary immunity of MP and former Edek leader Marinos Sizopoulos pending investigations into corruption. His defence said he did not object to the move.

Court decision and legal positions

Defence lawyer Chris Triantafyllides told the court that Sizopoulos did not oppose the lifting of his immunity. He said the defence had previously made clear it would not oppose the procedure, which was requested by the state legal services.

Deputy attorney-general Savvas Angelides told the court that all preconditions set out in the law had been met.

Triantafyllides reiterated that Sizopoulos wished to be treated as any other individual in the Republic. He said the defence’s disagreement concerned the facts of the case and any effort to allocate criminal liability.

Triantafyllides also said the defence regretted that the case had not moved forward sooner, noting that Sizopoulos had raised the issue with the police in 2019.

After both sides made their statements, presiding judge Katerina Stamatiou announced a short recess and then issued the decision to lift Sizopoulos’ immunity.

What do you think the lifting of parliamentary immunity means for how corruption investigations proceed in Cyprus?