Filenews 13 May 20252
The Minister of Justice and Public Order sent a letter to the President of the Supreme Court in relation to cases related to juvenile delinquency.
Marios Hartsiotis, in his letter, requests, according to information from "F", to consider the possibility of these cases being tried in a short period of time, in an attempt to control the phenomenon of delinquent behaviour by young people. The letter was sent on the occasion of the latest serious cases of juvenile delinquency committed throughout Cyprus and are related to either the custom of lambratzia, firecrackers, or violence in the stadiums.
The letter states that the brief hearing of cases concerning cases of juvenile delinquency will help to send the message that this behaviour will be punished immediately so that it acts as a deterrent. At the same time, it will work in conjunction with the fact that exploratory contacts have been initiated with the Ministry of Education in cooperation with the relevant teachers' associations, for repercussions on the conduct of students, if they are criminally convicted of serious delinquent behaviour.
As we are informed, it is one thing for someone to know that if he proceeds to illegal actions he will not have direct consequences and possibly to complete high school without punishment for his involvement in episodes of violence, and another to know that if he proceeds to criminal acts, he will be immediately handled by both the courts and his school unit. In other words, it is estimated by the competent ministry that it will act as a deterrent for new cases that cause at least damage to public and private property and endanger innocent lives.
The problem with juvenile delinquency has taken on dimensions recently and the criminal acts in which young people are involved are becoming more and more serious, resulting in a concern for society since lives are at risk. Apart from the cases of fan violence, there is a strong phenomenon of attacks against delivery drivers, whom they beat and then rob, there are the incidents of young people where dozens of them vandalize on the occasion of either the informal day against the Police, or the 100 days before they enlist in the National Guard, and there are also cases related to Easter customs where this year we mourned a young man during the setting up of the lampratzia.
The request of the Minister of Justice is expected to be examined by the Supreme Court in conjunction with the cases registered in the Courts and if it is deemed that it can be satisfied in some way, then it will be handled accordingly with relevant instructions to the lower courts.
