COMMERCE Minister Antonis Paschalides yesterday took on the role of acting Justice Minister until a replacement can be found.
The minister was asked to step in following Kypros Chrysostomides’ surprise resignation on Wednesday in the wake of convicted double murderer Antonis Prokopiou Kitas’ hospital escape last Friday.
Reports said Chrysostomides’ replacement would be appointed by the middle of next week. Although rumours have already started surfacing about who President Demetris Christofias will finally appoint, no single candidate was singled out.
Government sources said the person who would take over as Justice Minister would have to have proven abilities in handling difficult situations in light of the current explosive situation. The same sources were quoted as saying Christofias was not looking to appoint someone with the right political affiliations but someone with the right abilities, who could take the Central Prisons and Police Force to task.
One of the names reported by Politis newspaper was that of University of Cyprus professor and head of the Social and Political Sciences Department Andreas Kapardis.
In the meantime, Paschalides vowed that all necessary procedures would be undertaken to get to the bottom of the double rapist and murderer’s escape.
“It is not pleasant that someone who should be in jail is circulating freely. However, we must deal with a reality and that is what we’re doing,” he said.
Chrysostomides met with Paschalides at 10am to hand over his ministry. The changeover took place in private.
Eascape made a mockery of Cyprus
DISY deputy Ionas Nicolaou yesterday reiterated his belief that the state had been made a mockery of following Antonis Prokopiou Kitas’ recent escape.
He said the greatest obstacle was the stubborn persistence of those in authority to distance themselves from taking any responsibility and recognising their mistakes.
But Government Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said political responsibility did not necessarily mean resignation.
“Political responsibility is also undertaken with the actions you take to deal with phenomena,” he said.
Stefanou said President Demetris Christofias had never been informed about Kitas’ application to travel abroad for treatment or his lengthy hospitalisation at Nicosia’s private Appollonion hospital.
Christofias’ Office had been informed in writing by Kitas’ lawyers in October regarding the convict’s application to fly to Athens for surgery. On Tuesday, the president denied any knowledge of the 42-year-old’s hospital stay and said had he known he would have done something about it.
Stefanou said the president had never been shown such a letter and that his office received dozens of similar written requests, which were forwarded to the Attorney-general’s office for final approval. He also said it had not been made clear in the letter that the prisoner referred to was none other than the notorious Al Capone, who was jailed for the rapes and murders of Oksana Lisna, 20, and Christina Ahfeldt, 28, in 1994.
In fact, reports said that prior to the announcement of Chrysostomides’ resignation, Christofias had expressed his displeasure at how the entire incident had been handled. The former minister allegedly responded by telling the president he had not been kept informed about every aspect of Kitas’ escape.
Chrysostomides later heavily implied the Central Prisons and police were responsible for the fiasco and that they had a duty to respect institutions and regulations.
The former Justice Minister apparently also took a dig at Police Chief Iacovos Papacostas, regarding the manner in which the police had handled its attempted seizure of Kitas on Stasicratous Street during the early hours of last Friday shortly after he’d broken out of his hospital room. The remarks were made in writing and leaked to the press. Papacostas is believed to have responded by telling Chrysostomides he had been informed of how the operation had been carried out and had shown no objection.
Papacostas yesterday issued a statement saying he would no longer comment on the incident while it was under criminal investigation. Nevertheless it was his duty and obligation to reiterate that the police had nothing to hide, he said.
The police said it was prepared to fully co-operate with the investigation and provide information and evidence that would help shed light on the episode.
Inmates fear backlash after Kitas escape
POLICE were yesterday no closer to arresting notorious escaped convict Antonis ‘Al Capone’ Kitas.
Despite following up numerous alleged sightings of the island’s most wanted criminal, authorities came up empty handed every time and it became clear investigators had no leads as to his whereabouts.
Reports said people close to the rapist and murderer, who was jailed for life in 1994, have expressed fears for his life as he appears to have disappeared without a trace, which is most unlike him.
Meanwhile other convicts are said to be very unhappy with Kitas’ escape as it will have a detrimental effect on their own conditions of incarceration.
Ierotheos Christodoulou, alias Ropas, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1999 along with two accomplices for the murder of night club bouncer Marios Panayides, said yesterday what Kitas had done was “condemnable”.
Ropas was speaking to reporters after his Supreme Court appeal hearing.
“What he has done is condemnable and affects us all. Condemnable,” he said.
The 42-year-old’s escape and details of his cushy lifestyle at the Appollonion since he was first admitted to treat gastric reflux six months ago has put a spanner in the works for other inmates planning to seek hospital care over Christmas.
Reports in Politis said high-profile stockbroker Yiannos Andronikou, who was jailed in 2007 for seven years for stealing almost £5 million from 2003 to 2005, was treated at a private clinic for a lengthy period of time to undergo unnecessary surgeries. Apparently Andronikou had been planning to spend Christmas at a private clinic to have some moles removed. This will no longer be the case as from now on, any convict who needs treatment outside the Central Prisons will need to have a very serious and urgent condition.
