EVERYONE in Cyprus pays lip service to the democratic ideal of rule of law and its corollary equality before the law. But as with so many things there is a big gap separating the theory and the practice. We were reminded of this gap a few days ago, when four prominent and wealthy businessmen from Limassol were released from prison, by presidential pardon, after serving a few days of their 30-day sentence.
The four were sentenced to 30 days in prison for violating a court order, dating back to 2005, prohibiting the sale of real estate in Paphos. The district court judge ruled that they had shown contempt for the court order. It was not a harsh sentence but the judge was absolutely right in imposing a custodial sentence, thus making it clear that wealthy and powerful businessmen were not above the law, as often seems to be the case in Cyprus.
An appeal had been lodged against the decision, but this still did not justify the presidential pardon, which was granted on the advice of the Attorney-general. Of course, President Christofias had no obligation to heed this advice, especially if he believed that all citizens of the republic were equal before the law. Would the Attorney-general have asked for a pardon from the president on behalf of an unknown businessman who had been put inside for provocatively violating a court order? We all know the answer.
Then we wonder why there is such little respect for the law in Cyprus. Why should anyone show respect for the law when the president himself does not encourage it? His pardon, provocatively, undermined the judge who passed the sentence, implying that we should have no trust in our judges and our justice system. It suggested that the rule of law is not absolute, as some people who violate court orders do not have to serve their sentence in full.
It is not the first time Christofias has undermined the justice system by issuing a pardon. We still remember how he pardoned a well-connected Paphos lawyer after she spent a only tiny fraction of her prison sentence behind bars. Ironically, if Christofias had not interfered in these cases, they could have served as perfect examples of the rule of law; proof that everyone was equal before the law, and that nobody could break the law without being punished.
Unfortunately, our president does not seem capable of grasping the critical importance of convincing people that we have the rule of law.
