Mari criminal investigation nearly complete

THE attorney-general is very close to announcing criminal prosecutions in connection with the July naval base blast that killed 13 men, it was reported yesterday.

According to the Athens News Agency, examination of the sizable case file is almost complete and possibly on Monday, Attorney-general Petros Clerides will convene a meeting with investigators to discuss the case.

The July 11 blast was the result of the explosion of 98 containers holding munitions originating from Iran and bound for Syria, which were confiscated in 2009 and were exposed to the elements for over two years. 

An independent inquiry found President Demetris Christofias personally responsible for the tragedy, together with the former ministers of defence and foreign affairs.

Christofias has rejected the findings as unsubstantiated.

He also said the investigator, lawyer Polys Polyviou, had overstepped his mandate and refused to resign. 

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.