Nicosia, Cyprus. The Supreme Court on Thursday granted attorney Nikos Clerides permission to apply for the annulment of a search warrant on his premises in connection with the ‘Sandy affair’. The court cited shortcomings in the warrant’s issuance and scope.
Application to annul warrant
Clerides filed a petition as a ‘certiorari’, seeking to have the warrant annulled and rendered void from the outset.
In early April, police secured a search warrant to search Clerides’ premises, office and car. The warrant was signed by a Larnaca-based judge and issued at 12.45am.
Clerides said the warrant was illegally issued and was based on the affidavit of one of the police officers investigating the ‘Sandy’ case. He then applied to the Supreme Court to have the warrant annulled.
Background to the ‘Sandy affair’
Clerides had briefly been the attorney for ‘Sandy’ around late 2021. ‘Sandy’, the woman at the centre of the affair, alleges she was raped years ago by a former Supreme Court judge.
In text messages released by journalist Makarios Drousiotis, she also alleges the existence of a political-judicial cabal pulling the strings in Cyprus.
Supreme Court findings
In its judgment on Thursday, the Supreme Court found fault with the issuance of the warrant and cited four reasons.
First, it said there were no reasonable grounds that the affidavit was connected to the premises searched.
Second, it said the description of the exhibits police were searching for was too general and vague, which Clerides described as a “fishing expedition”.
Third, it said there was no evidence that Clerides was connected with the creation of the fake text messages by ‘Sandy’, as stated on the police warrant.
Fourth, it said the search warrant was issued in contravention of attorney-client privilege, noting that Clerides’ seized mobile phones contained information related to his communications with clients in general.
What implications do you think the court’s findings could have for how search warrants are issued in similar cases?
