Nicosia, Cyprus. The legal service said on Tuesday it would decide within days how to proceed following the acquittal of former house president Demetris Syllouris and former MP Christakis Giovannis in the Al Jazeera golden passports case.
Legal service response
A legal service official said both the majority and minority verdict would be studied, and that decisions would be made within the next few days.
Court ruling and evidence
The court, by a 2-1 majority, acquitted both men of all charges linked to alleged corruption in naturalisations under the Cyprus investment programme. The three-judge panel found that none of the three charges brought against Syllouris and Giovannis had been proven beyond reasonable doubt.
Presiding judge Nikolaos Georgiades said at the outset that the Al Jazeera video was not part of the evidence before the court. The court said the documentary was never formally submitted and its content was not taken into account, stressing it could rule only on admissible testimony and documents.
Background to the case
The acquittals followed criminal proceedings after a 2020 undercover investigation by Al Jazeera showed senior figures apparently willing to assist a proxy for a fictitious investor with a criminal background to obtain Cypriot citizenship.
The broadcast triggered an inquiry and ultimately the withdrawal of the investment-for-citizenship scheme. It also led to a criminal investigation ordered by the attorney-general, lasting more than a year and extending abroad, before charges were filed in 2022.
Political reaction
The ruling prompted outrage, with Volt describing the outcome as an “institutional failure” and calling on attorney general George Savvides and his deputy Savvas Angelides to assume responsibility and resign.
What should Cyprus’ legal service consider when deciding how to proceed after the acquittals?
