Nicosia, Cyprus. Police in Cyprus said allegations published by journalist Makarios Drousiotis in the so-called ‘Sandy’ affair were not supported by testimony, forensic findings or objective evidence. A prominent lawyer said on Thursday that many loose ends still remain in the case.
Police findings
Earlier this week, police held a news conference and said their investigation had debunked the allegations concerning the woman at the centre of the affair, known as ‘Sandy’.
Police chief Themistos Arnaoutis said an exhaustive investigation found that the claims lacked supporting evidence. Police also said the attorney-general had instructed them to examine whether criminal offences may have been committed in relation to “the creation, publication and public dissemination” of the material.
Material at the centre of the case
The matter centred on a collection of text messages, photographs, documents and audio files originating from ‘Sandy’ and provided to Drousiotis, who published them with accompanying commentary.
Police said they had found no corroboration for the claims and had also identified inconsistencies in the text messages that suggested they were fabricated.
Allegations and responses
All individuals named in the allegations have denied wrongdoing, and some have filed defamation suits against Drousiotis.
‘Sandy’ alleged that while still a teenager she was raped by former supreme court judge Michalakis Christodoulou and that he fathered three children with her. She also claimed she was paid hush money in the hundreds of millions of euro to keep the information undisclosed.
She further alleged the existence of a political-judicial cabal operating in Cyprus.
Legal comment
Attorney Achilleas Emilianides told the Cyprus Mail that the overall ‘Sandy’ narrative had been shown to be fake.
