"Paper War" A flurry of press releases and mutual blame between the Legal Service and the Independent Anti-Corruption Authority followed the decision to terminate the investigation into the black, surveillance van—owned by Israeli Tal Dillian—that was circulating on the streets of Larnaca.
Cyprus’s legal community, however, notes the conflicting positions between the two institutions, the irreconcilable accounts, and the questions that arise—all of which constitute yet another “fissure” in the relationship between the authorities and the public.
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Speaking on the “Alpha News” program, legal expert Achilleas Emilianidis calls on the Cabinet to appoint an investigative committee with a mandate “to investigate the political questions that arise regarding a major issue: surveillance, espionage, and wiretapping.”
“Unlike the findings of a criminal investigation, the findings of investigative committees are published because the political damage that has been caused and continues to be caused is so serious that only through transparency can true catharsis be achieved in society.”
She explained that if the Independent Anti-Corruption Authority aimed to investigate possible corruption offenses in the Legal Service’s handling of the case, then its investigation would not be covered by criminal proceedings and could be carried out.
SEE ALSO: Anti-Corruption Authority on the black van: It is clear that the investigation would also include the Assistant Attorney General
Attorney Simos Angelides explained on the Alpha Kalimera show that the findings of the European Parliament’s PEGA Committee and the conviction of the owner of the “black van,” Tal Dillian by the Greek justice system, and the book “Cyprus, The Navel of Surveillance” are events that occurred after the criminal investigation of the case by the Cypriot authorities and, therefore, could not have been investigated.
“The Authority is independent, but it appears that they coordinated with the Legal Service to ensure that no simultaneous investigations would be launched by both institutions, and that is correct. What the law does not provide for is that if an investigation by a certain authority—whether it be a criminal authority or the police—has been completed, this does not prevent another authority from proceeding with its own investigation from the outset.”
READ ALSO: Tal Dillian in an exclusive interview with Alpha Cyprus: He welcomes the Cypriot authorities’ decision regarding the “black van” and speaks about the narrative and clarification
