11 members of the Police will be brought to justice, some of them accused of serious criminal offenses, following complaints from citizens to the Independent Authority for the Investigation of Allegations and Complaints against the Police.
The relevant files of five cases were forwarded at the end of 2025 to the Attorney General, who decided to prosecute them. This information results from an official information to "F" by the Authority, while for some other uniformed officers it was decided to prosecute them.
Specifically, according to AADIPA data, in 2025 instructions were given by the Attorney General that five cases involving a total of 11 police officers be registered in the Courts for serious criminal offenses. These allegedly concern degrading treatment, illegal arrest, assault, etc. These cases have already begun to be registered in the District Courts of the cities where the incidents occurred and to take the path of trial. It is characteristic that for several cases examined by criminal investigators, there are also videos that recorded the incidents which are considered to be helpful for the cases in question.
A case investigated by criminal investigators and prosecutions were decided concerns an incident that happened last Easter when a man was arrested outside a kiosk in Larnaca. As can be seen from a video that came into the possession of criminal investigators, five uniformed police officers behaved at this person in a way that was claimed that he may constitute humiliation and that they had illegally arrested him, attacked him, while according to the instructions given, they will also be charged with the crime of abuse of power. This case is at the stage of registration in Court.
In another case, criminal investigators investigated a complaint by a citizen, who had gone to the Germasogeia Police Station. There had been a phone call from the citizen to the Station, there seems to have been an argument between them and the citizen went to the Station to ask for explanations. As it appeared from the station's cameras, five uniformed officers went to the entrance and allegedly did not allow him to enter it. At some point, two members of the Corps allegedly dragged him and dragged him to the Station. The complaint was investigated by investigators appointed by the Independent Authority for the Investigation of Allegations and Complaints against the Police, and the Attorney General gave instructions that two police officers be charged in court for the crime of inhuman and degrading treatment and causing bodily harm.
Hundreds of complaints against members of the Police
It is noted that throughout last year, 355 complaints were submitted by citizens about violence, mistreatment, bad behaviour or abuse of power by members of the Police. For 127 of them, it was decided to appoint criminal investigators to investigate them, while the rest were judged either as abusive, or as non-existent, or vindictive or that they did not fall within the competences of AADIPA.
In 2024, about 400 citizen complaints were submitted, of which less than half were investigated by criminal investigators (the presumption of innocence applies to all those involved).
For 2026, several complaints-complaints have been submitted against police officers concerning their handling of citizens either on the streets or in Police Stations. It is recalled that recently, Ioanna Fotiou or "Annie Alexui" had sent to the Minister of Justice, Kostas Fitiris, a letter-complaint concerning seven members of the Police. This letter was forwarded to AADIPA and a former lawyer of the Republic has already been appointed as a criminal investigator to investigate it.
As estimated by both the Police and the Independent Authority, now with the passing of the legislation that allows the use of portable cameras in the uniform of police officers, the lawless actions of police officers against citizens will be reduced, as well as the abusive complaints of persons against police officers, who aimed at intimidation in order to withdraw any criminal cases against them.
Prosecutions for disciplinary offenses
In addition to the criminal prosecutions of police officers for alleged criminal offenses, cases examined by the Authority in 2025 have revealed, for six cases involving eight police officers, the possible commission of disciplinary offenses. It is noted that for most cases where the criminal prosecution of persons is decided, disciplinary proceedings are also opened. In case of conviction by a Court, then the disciplinary case is also presumed.
One case that was investigated and the decision on its further handling is pending, concerned a citizen's complaint about an incident that took place in Paphos. Two members of the Police stopped a motorcyclist for a check and a complaint because he did not wear his helmet. The citizen allegedly reacted and the constable decided to arrest him and, in fact, handcuff him. The citizen protested and as he claimed in his testimony, he asked the police to go with them to the Police Station to investigate the case. Instead, a uniformed man effortlessly and without much provocation allegedly pulled out his service pistol with which he was aiming at the motorcyclist. For this incident there is also a video in which the whole scene was recorded and which was forwarded with all the evidence to the Legal Service for study and instructions are expected.
The Authority remains understaffed
In the meantime, the Authority's long-standing request for staff reinforcement is not progressing, nor is the bill that allows it to employ permanent criminal investigators, so that on the one hand there is the possibility of immediate appointment and on the other hand there is no waste of public money. At the moment, the remuneration of criminal investigators appointed by the Authority from a list after the approval of the Attorney General, is paid to them on the basis of their working hours. In order to avoid any abuses for excessive working hours, the recommendation was submitted to hire 10 permanent criminal investigators who will investigate complaints that are considered prima facie well-founded. As "F" is informed, there are cases where the investigators have to go to Paphos for investigations, as a result of which it cannot be checked whether the hours declared are correct, while the hours for going and returning are also charged. With the permanent criminal investigators, this will disappear.
