FIRE CHIEF Andreas Nicolaou will return to active duty – temporarily at least – after the Supreme Court ruled that the decision to suspend him had been unlawful.
Nicolaou was initially put on furlough on July 27 for a period of three months following the launch of criminal and disciplinary investigations against him with regard to his role in events prior to and on July 11 surrounding the ammunitions blast at Mari naval base.
He was suspended from duty by the Justice Minister on the grounds that he allegedly failed to take any safety measures despite knowing since February 2009 that 98 containers with flammable and dangerous materials were being stored at the base.
In a written statement submitted to the court, Nicolaou said as fire service chief, the service had never been called to inspect explosives or ammunitions at any National Guard camps, adding that the service does not even have experts on ammunitions and their storage.
On October 26, when Nicolaou’s three-month suspension was up, Justice Minister Loucas Louca decided to renew the suspension for three more months.
The minister took his decision after communicating in writing with the deputy police chief, who confirmed that disciplinary procedures against Nicolaou were ongoing and that the relevant criminal file was with the Attorney-general’s office.
Nicolaou appealed both decisions, arguing they were “void” and “illegal”.
While upholding the initial decision, the top court this week found fault with the subsequent move to extend Nicolaou’s suspension.
A Supreme Court judge said there was no indication Nicolaou was contacted or notified about the intention to have his suspension extended before the actual decision was taken – as he should have been under civil service regulations – and as such the procedure was irregular.
Lawyer Ricos Erotocritou, who represents the family of one of the firemen killed in the July 11 blast, said the court’s decision was based purely on procedural grounds.
“But there still exists a great ethical and legal issue about what was said about Mr. Nicolaou before the committee of inquiry headed by Polis Polyviou,” Erotocritou said.
Speaking to the Cyprus Mail, Justice Minister Loucas Louca said yesterday the civil service would comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling and re-instate Nicolaou to active duty.
But he did not rule out initiating another procedure from scratch to have Nicolaou placed on suspension again. He would be convening a meeting to discuss this today, he said.
