Police watchdog to probe handling of missing women

The independent police watchdog will be investigating the way the force handled the disappearances of several women and two children who turned out to be the victims of a serial killer, it was announced on Monday.

The watchdog said it would be probing the possible “commission of criminal and disciplinary offences and the people involved”.

The head of the independent commission, Andreas Paschalides, said they have asked the attorney-general’s consent to appoint criminal investigators.

The case has forced the resignation of Justice Minister Ionas Nicolaou and the dismissal of the chief of police Zacharias Chrysostomou as reports suggested earlier investigations into the disappearances were deficient.

The force is already carrying out its own internal probes into the perceived shortcomings.

 

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.