Pafos Live 20 December 2025
The Cyprus Police has implemented dynamic, preventive operations across Cyprus to combat crime and prevent road collisions.
In this context, a total of 657 checks were carried out on drivers and passengers of vehicles on Friday night, from which 206 complaints for various traffic offenses emerged.
During the traffic checks, 174 breathalyzer tests were carried out, of which 58 drivers were found positive and reported for driving under the influence of alcohol, while three drivers were found positive in a preliminary drug test.
Nine arrests were also made for offenses related to illegal possession of property, carrying knives and illegal possession of an offensive instrument, illegal possession of empty military magazines, illegal stay in the territory of the Republic of Cyprus, drunkenness and restlessness, as well as for fine warrants.
As part of the investigation of traffic offenses, a total of 10 vehicles were detained for further examinations.
These operations are part of a broad and constantly strengthened crime fighting plan, with an increased police presence, targeted controls and immediate operational action in all provinces.
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Filenews
The Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) was sentenced to a fine of €40,000 by the Nicosia District Court, following a criminal prosecution promoted by the Labour Inspection Department of the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance, for serious violations of the legislation on Safety and Health at Work.
According to an announcement by the Department of Labour Inspection, the violations are related to an accident at work, which resulted in the fatal injury of an EAC employee and the serious injury of a second employee, while other persons were also endangered.
The case concerned violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Management Regulations of 2021, the Regulations on the Minimum Safety and Health Standards for the Use of Work Equipment (2001 and 2004), the Code of Practice for the Control and Maintenance of Fire Extinguishers (RAA 520/2014), as well as the Occupational Safety and Health Laws of 1996 to 2020, is noted.
As reported, the EAC failed to provide adequate guidance and supervision to its employees, resulting in a short circuit during work and the serious injury of two workers, who suffered extensive burns. One of the two succumbed to his injuries on June 22, 2021.
In addition, it was found that no risk assessment had been carried out by conducting a Pressure Test, nor had the necessary preventive and protective measures been determined.
At the same time, sufficient specialized training had not been provided to the employees who performed the specific work, the announcement notes.
A significant omission was also the non-maintenance of a fire extinguisher that was in an official vehicle, which did not ensure its effective operation in the event of a fire, it is reported.
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A young mother was involved in a car accident. She was injured and since then she has been undergoing surgeries, but her problem has not been solved. Everything was turned upside down and her family and professional life was definitively marked.
The court proceedings for this accident, which aimed to pay compensation to the woman by the second driver involved in the road collision, lasted 18 whole months. More than 30 witnesses, most of them doctors, were called and testified in it, and the decision was issued in 2023.
The Court, of course, did not consider possible medical liabilities. In the course of the court proceedings, however, it was necessary to examine whether the situation in which the woman now finds herself was the result of the accident and the medical management she received as a result.
On this basis, it was examined whether the first surgery the woman had undergone was necessary, with the Court finally pointing out in its decision that international, European and other medical protocols and guidelines were not taken into account for its performance.
In fact, the Court, analyzing the evidence before it, concluded that the woman's injury did not justify, in any case, the performance of the first surgery she underwent.
The woman is still waiting to get her compensation while at the same time she has filed a complaint with the Police against the doctor who performed the operation since, as she and her lawyers claim, the surgery not only did not cure her health problems but, rather, created them or created more.
A central element, in terms of the need to perform the first surgery, is the evaluation of the imaging tests before surgery in the decision.
The Court, in its decision, cites its finding: "It appears that after the accident, the plaintiff's x-rays depicted straightening of the cervical spine and the dynamic x-rays, i.e. the x-rays in flexion and extension (of exhibits 21, 32 and 143), showed slippage of the vertebrae".
In short, 'the plaintiff's imaging tests did not fall within the criteria set out in the tables in Presumptions 204 and 247 (medical guidelines and protocols)'.
At another point in its decision, the Court points out that: "Based on the testimony (of two witnesses), as well as the relevant tables, the plaintiff's image, resulting from the imaging tests, does not fall within the definition of instability and therefore the surgery was not justified."
"To put it in the Witness's terms, 'there shouldn't have been surgery.'
Examining the relevance of the accident to the development of the woman's medical condition, the Court concluded that "the injury suffered by the plaintiff from the accident in question was nothing more than a neck sprain due to a whip. (…) Specifically, the accident caused the plaintiff a neck injury, like a whip, a craniocerebral injury (concussion) and an injury to the right shoulder. The straightening found in the imaging tests is also added."
By extension, the Court states, "the situation in which the plaintiff found herself as a result of the first surgery is not logically related to the accident in question, which is limited to the neck sprain and the other things mentioned above which had nothing to do with the operations".
"I do not consider it appropriate to repeat the findings set out above, suffice it to indicate that the performance of the first operation was deemed unnecessary and the decision was taken outside any criterion of the medical literature as long as no instability is found."
The Court, in its decision, characterizes the testimony of the doctor who performed the first operation on the woman as "contradictory and self-contradictory": "For all the reasons mentioned above, the contradictory and self-contradictory position (of the witness) that before the surgery he made any measurement in any way cannot be believed. (…) "Most of the positions remained excruciatingly unjustified, unrelated to the literature, and contrary to the doctors' own data." And he adds: "... The whole process reveals that these witnesses relinquished the role they play as experts in this process, serving either the interests of the plaintiff or even their own decisions (this reference is limited to the first surgery...)".
The decision that opens a new cycle of complaints
After finding that the specific accident had not caused damage that would justify the performance of the surgery that in fact was the beginning of the woman's serious adventure, the Court decided on damages that corresponded to the real health problems caused by the road collision.
That is, neck injury, craniocerebral injury (concussion), right shoulder injury and straightening.
"Special indemnities amounting to €1,305 as well as general indemnities amounting to €6,000. Statutory interest will be charged on both amounts from the date of registration of the lawsuit. The costs of the present proceedings are awarded in favour of the plaintiff and will be calculated on the basis of the total compensation voted".
It is reported that the woman, due to her health condition, is currently receiving a disability pension. As she claims, she was forced to close her business, since she cannot work and has therefore lost all her income as a professional.
This decision, although the judicial process did not concern the specific issue, paved the way for the woman to file a complaint with the Police, against the doctor who subjected her to the first, based on the Court decision, unnecessary surgery that resulted, as she claims, in being led to the situation she is in today after a total of seven "corrective" surgeries that she had to undergo.
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Developments behind the scenes are taking place in relation to the case of N.T. and her complaint for rape and the subsequent conviction of Cyprus by the ECtHR for violating her rights by suspending the criminal prosecution against a political figure.
The Legal Service, at the request of N.T.'s lawyer, Leto Kariolou, handed over all the witness material for the case of the rape complaint, so that she could study it and decide what to ultimately advise her client. It is recalled that after the conviction of Cyprus by the ECtHR for the present case, the possibility of reopening the case was considered, however, the consent of N.T. is needed, so that in a possible future trial it can come to the Court and testify. Her lawyer asked to study all the details of the case and now she is expected, after examining all the evidence, to inform her client and give her instructions on the next steps.
At the same time, according to information from "F", the Legal Service, which studied the ECtHR decision and the case file, gave instructions to the Police for further actions in relation to the case. The actions will concern certain issues and aspects of the case that were deemed necessary to be done, so that in case the affected woman decides to proceed with a new criminal prosecution, the prosecuting authorities will be ready to do so. It is expected that actions will now be taken to collect additional testimony so that the Legal Service is ready in the event of a new prosecution.
Developments in the case are expected at the beginning of 2026, since various processes are still pending and of course everything depends on the decision of the affected woman.
It is recalled that the European Court of Human Rights, by decision on July 3, 2025, condemned Cyprus for the rape complaint case following an appeal by N.T. v. Cyprus no. 28150/22. The applicant, N.T., a Cypriot citizen born in 1992 and resident of Larnaca, appealed to the Court regarding the investigation of her rape allegations. In 2021, she reported to the Police that she had been raped ten years earlier, at the age of 18, by a classmate. The Police immediately opened an investigation and charged the alleged perpetrator. However, the Assistant Attorney General, Savvas Angelidis, finally decided to discontinue the criminal proceedings in December 2021. This decision was based, mainly, on alleged contradictions in the complainant's testimonies, as well as on her admission that she liked the alleged perpetrator with whom she had previously had a relationship and that she might have sent him 'wrong messages'.
The applicant, invoking Articles 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment), 8 (right to respect for private life) and 14 (non-discrimination) of the European Convention on Human Rights, complained that the Cypriot authorities did not investigate and prosecute her rape allegations effectively. In addition, she argued that the authorities did not adopt a victim-sensitive approach, as they exposed her to secondary victimization and discrimination.
The ECtHR found a violation of Article 3 (regarding the investigation), Article 8 and Article 14 in conjunction with Articles 3 and 8 and awarded the applicant €20,000 for non-material damage and €15,470 for costs.
After the conviction and the storm of reactions that broke out against the Assistant Attorney General, he stated in his statements that his decision to suspend the prosecution was made on the basis of new testimony and on the grounds that if the case failed in Court, wrong messages would be sent for other victims not to report such cases. He also rejected the talk of his resignation.
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They are now rushing to complete the two investigations ordered last April when the horrific case of abuse of four children by father and mother saw the light of day. The two investigations were completed, according to what was reported to Filenews, but remained in the drawers, with the parents' admission to... hastens the conclusions.
The first investigation was administrative and was ordered by the Deputy Ministry of Welfare, in order to determine if there were any omissions by officials of the Social Welfare Services, who had been monitoring the family for years. The second was ex officio and started by the former Commissioner for the Protection of Children's Rights, who demanded answers from the SWS, the children's school and the Police.
It is noted that, as revealed by our website last Wednesday, in a trial held behind closed doors before the Permanent Criminal Court of Larnaca, the 48-year-old father, who is a stepfather to some of the children, and the 42-year-old mother changed their attitude and admitted almost everything. Specifically, they pleaded guilty, among other things, to charges of exploitation at work, causing mental harm and assault causing actual bodily harm. In addition, the 48-year-old also pleaded guilty to the charge of sexually abusing one of the girls. It is emphasized that some of the charges carry up to life imprisonment.
Following this development, which now sets new standards in the much-praised case of torture of 4 of the 5 children in the family, we immediately contacted both the Deputy Ministry of Welfare and the Office of the Commissioner for the Protection of Children's Rights, asking for information on the whereabouts of the investigations.
Yesterday late afternoon from the Office of the new Deputy Minister of Welfare, Klea Hatzistefanou-Papaellina, the following was reported to us: "The Deputy Minister received today 18.12.25 the administrative investigation carried out by order of the former Deputy Minister. It will study it so that it can make its decisions on the next steps."
Understaffing, an issue repeatedly raised by the former Commissioner for the Protection of Children's Rights, Despo Michailidou, is attributed to the fact that the second investigation was left open. As the new Commissioner, Elena Pericleous, told us, all the answers were given by the competent services a long time ago. "It's understaffing that led to this. Although the investigation has been completed, the evaluation has not been completed, which, in view of the trial, will be done quickly so that it can be used, because it is an issue that concerns public opinion, but we are also concerned about all these gaps that existed", noted Ms. Pericleous. According to the Commissioner, the evaluation will be completed within the next week.
It is recalled that the father and mother were arrested last March by the special unit for violence in the family of the Larnaca Police Department. The case was revealed when one of the children of the family confided in his school the calvary they had been experiencing with his siblings in recent years.
