CONFIDENCE in the police seems to have fallen to an all-time low, following Thursday’s court verdict, and the recent saga of escaped convict Antonis Prokopiou Kitas.
Ioannis Papageorgiou, the father of one of the students who had been beaten up, said in comments to CyBC: “Is this kind of verdict supposed to reinforce people’s trust in the police, or rather will it encourage other rotten apples in the police ranks? It’s like saying ‘do what you like, because in the end you will get away with it’.”
Two-thirds of public have little or no confidence in the police, according to the latest “Cyprobarometer” survey, which was carried out before the court delivered its verdict.
The latest Cyprobarometer survey, carried out between 3 and 10 February 2009, showed that
80 per cent of people believed that Cyprus is facing a crisis in its institutions. Concern over the police showed the biggest single rise, with one in three people saying that the police force is facing the biggest crisis. Almost two-thirds, some 64 per cent, said they had little or no confidence in the police.
There was speculation at the time of the video-recording of the beating that the person who made it was too afraid to come forward to testify in court, perhaps fearing persecution by police officers. That person’s identity is still not known to the public. Public Prosecutor Savvas Matsas, who prosecuted the case, said that the first seven minutes of the video-recording contained family footage. This may well provide a clue to the person’s identity.
One of the defence lawyers, Michalakis Kyprianou, seemed to suggest he knew the person’s identity. In comments to CyBC, he said that people will be shocked when they find out who made the recording, and made insinuations as to why that person had not come forward. Kyprianou also pointed out that the law already allowed for that person to be obliged to come forward and testify.
In a move that is unlikely to improve public confidence in the police force, Assistant Chief of Police Michalis Papageorgiou said that the disciplinary charges against the accused police officers may also be dropped. “When serious criminal charges are brought, then a disciplinary proceedings file is automatically opened based on those charges”, he said, adding: “if the disciplinary charges are judged to be the same as the criminal charges that were rejected, then there will be no other choice than to suspend the disciplinary proceedings and allow the officers to resume their normal duties.”
The main political parties all made various public statements yesterday, some of which addressed the question of public confidence.
AKEL General Secretary Andreas Kyprianou said: “Clearly, a sense of justice has not been satisfied, which is obvious from people’s reactions. We hope that processes will be followed that will vindicate that sense of justice at another level. We think the whole affair should be dealt with calmly. The court has made a decision. It is a separate institution, and we respect that, but at the same time nobody is beyond criticism. Executive, governmental, legislative and judicial power should all be open to being judged and criticised when necessary.”
EVROKO party leader Demetris Sillouris added: “The whole impression given by the court’s decision and the reactions to it is one of the institutions of justice falling apart, which is a cause for concern for every citizen who until now felt secure in relation to the justice system. We will not comment on the case and the legal ins-and-outs, but we are concerned that the operation of the state institutions is falling apart.”
Opposition DISY Vice-President Ionas Nicolaou said: “The fact remains that public opinion is justified in feeling that justice has not been served by this verdict.” He added: “How can justice be upheld when on the one hand the court establishes that the two students were mistreated in a harsh and inhuman fashion, and on the other hand all the accused are acquitted on the grounds that the offences were carried out by people not present?”
In a party statement issued early yesterday, EDEK said that beyond the legal parameters of the verdict, which are to be fully respected, “there are also known opinions expressed by the people and the public sense of justice, which clearly have not been satisfied.”
