Nicosia, Cyprus. Former president Nicos Anastasiades on Tuesday rejected accusations of abuse of power and influence peddling contained in an anti-corruption authority report linked to an investigation into his former aide and journalist Makarios Drousiotis’ book Mafia State. He accused his critics of engaging in smears, toxicity, and character assassination after the report was published.
Anastasiades responds to report
Anastasiades said some people did not need the report’s findings to reach a verdict and had held their views for years. He said that after the report’s announcement, there was smearing, toxicity, and character assassination, and that those critics had turned the inventor of the “Sandy” case into a hero.
Presumption of innocence
He also accused his detractors of violating the presumption of innocence, which he described as a constitutional right. He said that despite this, some had set up courts of public opinion and convicted the “guilty” based on the balance of probability.
The “Sandy” case
The “Sandy” case refers to a separate series of allegations made earlier this year by Drousiotis concerning a now 45-year-old woman identified only as “Sandy”. Drousiotis claims that former supreme court judge Michalakis Christodoulou raped and stabbed her and that Christodoulou fathered three of her children.
Denials by those named
Christodoulou maintains his innocence. Other public figures named in Drousiotis’ allegations related to the case have also denied all accusations made against them.
