Filenews 31 August 2023 - by Fanis Makrides
Issues of moral – but also possibly criminal – responsibilities for the Minister of Justice, Anna Prokopiou, the Chief of Police, Stelios Papatheodorou and members of the police force in general, have been raised in the last 24 hours in the sphere of public debate on the tragic events in Chloraka.
These responsibilities are directly intertwined with the way the well-known case of a 47-year-old Syrian was handled. The latter, as commented by citizens, was "legitimized" in the way officials of the public security industry treated him.
Ms Prokopiou and Mr Papatheodorou had a meeting at the Pafos police headquarters with a delegation of migrants in which the person in question participated, the day after Sunday's serious incidents and only a few hours after a (second) arrest warrant was issued against him for criminal offences in relation to the Chloraka incidents. This person was arrested much later and for a different reason (flagrant offences).
In other words, none of the officers who came into contact with him before, during, and shortly after his meeting with the two state officials arrested the person in question. At a time when the leadership of the Police itself makes constant recommendations to its members for adequate checks on persons entering Police premises.
Everything recorded in the above lines, about the way the Police should have acted and, by extension, the timely finding that the 47-year-old has two pending court warrants against him and had to be arrested, is substantiated by facts, but also police instructions, the content of which is available to "F".
Warrant at 16:05
On Monday afternoon and after what preceded Sunday in Chloraka, the incidents by domestic persons (characterized as far-right elements) and protests by foreigners of Arab origin, the Police began to take steps to issue arrest warrants.
One of those warrants involved the 47-year-old migrant. As we are aware, the Police in their request to the senior District Judge of the Pafos District Court, Irene Demetriou Panayi, alleges that the suspect was being investigated for three criminal offences:
> Publication of false news in violation of Article 50 of Chap. 154.
> Provocation and incitement to violence in violation of Article 51A of Cap. 154.
> Arousal to commit a criminal offence in violation of Article 370 of Cap. 154, committed on 28/8/2023 in Paphos District.
The migrant in question on Monday morning, in statements broadcast by the media, appeared to say that "if the Government does not do something by the afternoon, we will turn Pafos upside down". He was also quoted as saying, "As they entered our house, we will enter their home."
However, the above arrest warrant was never executed. This is evident from the record of irrefutable facts. Within two hours of an arrest warrant being issued for him, he appears to be making new public statements, posing as a representative of the migrants vandalized on Sunday. The most serious thing is that shortly before 20:00 on Monday night, the 47-year-old arrives at the Pafos Police Headquarters along with a delegation of migrants. There is a meeting with the Minister and the Chief of Police.
The detainee (now), about an hour and a half later, returns to the migrant protest point in a police car. Despite two arrest warrants against him, he watched officials and police officers untouched.
He was eventually arrested shortly before midnight on Monday and for other reasons. Around 23:00 his vehicle was engulfed in flames, while within the next 30 minutes he was arrested for a flagrant offense by police officers. The offences were: "Assaulting a police officer, obstructing a police officer in the performance of his lawful duty, stabbing, resting, public insult, disturbing the peace, public nuisance, resisting lawful arrest and driving under the influence of drugs."
Last Tuesday, the second arrest warrant against him that existed before the Chloraka incidents surfaced. He was suspected of theft and theft of building tools.
Checks and responsibilities against officials and police officers
The reasons why he was not arrested as of Monday, since before entering the premises of the Pafos Police Headquarters there were already two warrants, with one being "fresh", remain unclear. However, internal police correspondence, the contents of which we are aware of, intensify the questions. The leadership of the Force makes constant recommendations for citizens or foreigners to be checked at the first opportunity in the available systems, especially when they are for various reasons in Police premises. It is a typical instruction from the Police Headquarters to police directors in September 2022, which explicitly emphasizes that "all members of the Police who come into contact with the public in the context of the performance of their duties" should even verify whether these persons have fine warrants pending against them. The question of why the 47-year-old was not arrested remains unanswered. In addition, arrest warrants are registered in the systems used by the Police within one hour of their issuance.
The matter was not clarified even through the explanations given. Police spokesman Christos Andreou, when asked yesterday, said: "The Syrian went with two other foreigners to the meeting and there he was informed in time by our members that a criminal case against him is being investigated." Besides, the day before yesterday, after the end of the meeting at the Presidential Palace, the Chief of Police himself, when asked about the 47-year-old, underlined that "the purpose of the meeting is different. It doesn't mean that if you meet someone and then commit a criminal offence, you won't do your job." A lawyer commented to "F" that the issue under discussion could even raise issues of abuse of power and neglect of official duty.
Asylum seeker with investment company
The 47-year-old Syrian, against whom a court case was filed yesterday, appears to be the owner of a company that has as its object "investment activities and others". The company was founded in December 2017 by another person of Arab origin, who in June 2018 granted the 47-year-old shares and positions.
A police source told "F" that the accused is engaged in construction work and is an asylum seeker. After all, he reportedly has family in Cyprus.
A case was registered against him yesterday and this morning (09:30) the court will issue a decision on whether he will be detained as an undertrial. The prosecution requested that he be detained as an undertrial, citing conditions he violated in a previous criminal case against him. The charges relate to the offences we recorded above and have to do with the events of Chloraka, but also with the previous case of theft and theft of building tools.
