Nicosia, Cyprus. Former Greek Cypriot chief negotiator Andreas Mavroyiannis on Wednesday urged caution over calls for the attorney-general and his assistant to recuse themselves from an expected investigation into an anti-corruption authority report concerning former president Nicos Anastasiades. He said institutions should be allowed to perform their roles unless a real conflict of interest exists.
Calls for recusal
Calls have been made from across the political spectrum, including by Anastasiades himself, for attorney-general George Savvides and assistant attorney-general Savvas Angelides to play no part in any further investigation into the report’s findings.
The anti-corruption authority’s report found that Anastasiades may be criminally liable for abuses of power. Savvides and Angelides were appointed to the legal service’s top positions by Anastasiades and had previously served as ministers under him.
Mavroyiannis urges trust in institutions
Speaking to Politis radio, Mavroyiannis said political culture requires respect for institutions and trust in their ability to carry out their duties.
He said excluding those assigned to carry out a specific mission whenever a case arises would undermine the purpose of their roles, and added that recusal should occur only if there is a real conflict of interest.
Call for accountability and due process
Mavroyiannis said he expects a criminal investigation to be conducted and that, if crimes are proven to have been committed, there must be accountability.
He said legal proceedings should be held and illegal acts punished, while stressing the importance of the rule of law and transparency. He also said the results of an ongoing process should not be prejudged.
Mavroyiannis added that the principles of justice, the rule of law and the presumption of innocence should be respected in practice.
Background to the case
He also referred to the history of the case and the book on which the anti-corruption authority’s investigation was based, Mafia State, written by journalist and former Anastasiades aide Makarios Drousiotis.
Mavroyiannis said the book caused intense controversy when it was first published in 2022, prompting him to send a letter to the anti-corruption authority suggesting that an investigation could be conducted into the matter.