Nicosia, Cyprus. A Nicosia criminal court ruled on Thursday that it will determine which case files should be deemed classified or secret in a trial involving the theft of documents from the central prisons.
Defendants and charges
On trial are former prisons director Anna Aristotelous, former vice-director Athena Demetriou, five prison wardens, and a former prisons employee who is now a police officer.
The indictment includes conspiracy to commit a felony, abuse of power, violation of official confidentiality, personal data processing offenses, theft by a civil servant, violation of the security rules for classified documents, and illegal possession of property.
Discovery of the document cache
The documents cache was found in April 2025 at the house of a chief prison warden, where approximately 48,000 documents were located.
Police had been searching the premises as part of an investigation into a different case.
Many of the documents are marked “confidential” and “secret” and are believed to have been removed illegally from the prisons between November and December 2022.
Timeline and pre-trial proceedings
Aristotelous was serving as director of the central prisons at the time of the alleged unlawful removal of the documents, before leaving the post in late December 2022.
The eight defendants have yet to enter a plea, with their lawyers seeking access to all material before their clients plead innocent or guilty.
The trial remains in the discovery stage, the pre-trial process where opposing parties exchange information, evidence, and witness lists.
Defense request for access to evidence
On Thursday, attorneys for the defendants argued they must have access to, or at least be able to review, all documents in the prosecution’s possession.
Do you think the court’s approach to deciding which files are classified will affect when the defendants enter their pleas?
