THERE ARE no criminal responsibilities for the collapse of the Nicosia municipal theatre roof last June, Attorney-general Petros Clerides informed Cabinet yesterday.
Commenting on the Investigative Committee report into the collapse, Clerides wrote in a letter to Cabinet that no criminal offences were committed by anyone involved in the collapse, and as such, there was no point instructing police to begin an inquiry.
Clerides noted that responsibilities did arise but that those indicated were not public or state officials and therefore, there was no question of launching disciplinary proceedings.
According to Government Spokesman Stephanos Stephanou, after reading the Attorney-general’s letter, Cabinet decided yesterday to make the report public, and send a copy to all parties involved in the construction of the roof.
The only prospect of seeking any remedy for the near-tragedy now lies with the Nicosia Municipality, which plans to sue all those implicated as holding responsibility in the report.
Nicosia Mayor Eleni Mavrou told the Cyprus Mail yesterday she has already given instructions to their legal adviser to proceed with legal action against everyone who was involved in the project and may be held responsible.
The report’s conclusions indicated which parties could be held accountable for the near tragedy, said Mavrou.
Regarding the exact causes of the collapse, and the people responsible, Clerides would not go into details, saying only that the report was clear on that and Cabinet did not need his explanation, noted Stephanou.
The spokesman said instructions were given to distribute the report to the parties involved in the renovation of the building, after which it would be made public.
Renovation of the municipal theatre cost near €6m and lasted two and half years before the roof caved in on an empty auditorium on June 11, 2008, just one night before schoolchildren were set to stage an end of year production. The theatre has 1,200 seats, most of which would have been filled by children, families and teachers.
On February 5, the Investigative Committee handed over its 25-page report plus annexes to the Education Ministry, which oversees the work of THOC.
At the time, Education Minister Andreas Demetriou refused to go into the details of the report, hinting only that: “The steel structure’s resistance, on which the roof was placed, was not evaluated correctly among other things.”
