Paphos mayor to be charged for spreading fake news

Police have opened a case against Paphos mayor Phedonas Phedonos in connection with spreading fake news after he accused the force of turning a blind eye to drug trafficking, the Cyprus News Agency said on Wednesday.

Citing unnamed police sources, the agency said police planned to charge Phedonos over a November 1 post on social media.

In the post, the outspoken mayor said “based on a recent incident, the police leadership, with its actions and omissions, allows certain drug traffickers to evade the law. In which other country does this happen?”

Police sources said the post was considered fake news and anyone spreading it is subject to prosecution.

According to the law, anyone publishing fake news or information that could hurt public order or the public’s trust in the state or its apparatus or cause fear, is guilty of a misdemeanour punishable with up to two years in jail or a fine of up to €2,562 or both.

Police said they have opened a case and the mayor is expected to be charged in a few days.

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.