Nicosia, Cyprus. Independent criminal investigators recommended criminal prosecution of 15 police officers, including Police Chief Themistos Arnaoutis, over alleged failures in handling domestic violence complaints before the 2019 suicide of 14-year-old Stylianos Constantinou.
Investigators’ recommendations
Independent investigators Andreas Andreou and Modestos Pogiadjis told the court on Tuesday that they found grounds for criminal liability for multiple police officers, including senior officials, after examining repeated complaints made over several years to police stations.
Andreou said they made recommendations for the prosecution of 15 officers, but that the attorney-general’s office in 2021 proceeded with charges against only one police officer while declining to prosecute the others.
Arnaoutis named in findings
Arnaoutis, who served as head of Pera Chorio police station at the time of several incidents, was included on the list of officers identified in the administrative and criminal investigation findings.
Complaints filed between 2007 and 2013
The case concerns 21 recorded reports made by Stylianos’ mother between 2007 and 2013, involving allegations of domestic violence, threats and assaults.
According to a police report presented in court, many complaints were registered in station logs but later marked as closed without further investigation or escalation.
Alleged procedural failures
The report states that in multiple instances officers failed to initiate investigations, compile full case files, or notify relevant authorities as required under police regulations and circulars.
It also records that in 19 of the 21 complaints the complainant did not provide a written statement or requested that no action be taken against her husband, which officers often cited when closing cases.
However, the findings state officers were required to proceed with investigations regardless of victim consent in domestic violence cases, particularly where minors were involved.
Potential disciplinary offences
The administrative investigation identifies potential disciplinary offences including negligence of duty, omission and disobedience, concluding that reasonable suspicions were raised for involvement of multiple officers across different incidents.
What steps do you think should be taken to ensure domestic violence complaints involving minors are fully investigated?
