Police question journalist Makarios Drousiotis over “Mafia State” book
Police questioned journalist Makarios Drousiotis as part of an investigation into possible breaches of intelligence service and personal data laws.
Nicosia, Cyprus. Police questioned journalist Makarios Drousiotis on Thursday in an investigation linked to his book “Mafia State” and a possible breach of personal data legislation, police spokesman Vyronas Vyronos confirmed on Friday.
Drousiotis said he was called to CID Headquarters to provide an investigative statement concerning alleged violations of intelligence service and personal data protection laws.
Questions during interrogation
Drousiotis said investigators asked who knew the book’s contents before publication, how he obtained the material cited in it, and what role its editor and designer played.
He said he was also asked to comment on the covers of the two editions of “Mafia State” and whether he had received permission from a competent authority to publish his books.
Drousiotis said that, to his knowledge, this was the first time legislation governing the intelligence service had been used to launch a criminal investigation into a journalist. He described the matter as the “use of national security as a weapon against journalism.”
Previous investigation stage
The case follows an earlier stage of the same investigation, which Drousiotis disclosed in a social media post four years after the book’s publication and two months after the Independent Authority Against Corruption submitted its findings.
He linked the timing of the complaint to the authority’s announcement concerning “Mafia State” and said it was the third criminal investigation against him within a month.
Drousiotis also said CID had sought statements from the book’s printer, editor and designer, which he described as an attempt to intimidate his associates.
Police confirmation
At the earlier stage, Police Headquarters Communications Branch officer Michalis Michael confirmed that the investigation concerned an alleged breach of personal data legislation.
Michael said it was separate from the case involving the Anti-Corruption Authority’s findings, for which criminal investigators had been appointed, and added that the inquiry remained at an early stage.
Separate court case
Drousiotis faces separate court charges of publishing false news, circulating a forged document and harassment in connection with the “Sandy” affair.
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