JUSTICE Minister Doros Theodorou yesterday charged Attorney-general Solon Nikitas of wrongly accusing him of ulterior motives over the New Year pardons list of inmates proposed for early release.
The minister said Nikitas had created an image of conflict between the two which he did not share or wish to cultivate.
The reply follows the Attorney-general’s flat rejection of a second pardons list on Friday, which caused a backlash of reactions from all sides of the spectrum.
Nikitas argued the time for giving presidential pardons had ended at Christmas when he approved the early release of 81 inmates out of 132. The Attorney-general referred to the “mistaken logic” of the Justice Minister and prison governor who wanted to use New Year as an excuse to release more prisoners.
Yesterday, Theodorou gave a measured response, arguing it was not within the competences of the Attorney-general to attribute ulterior motives to him in public in the manner and tone that he did. The minister stressed he did not have a problem with the Attorney-general’s rejection of the second pardons list, but did have a problem with the way Nikitas “wrongly represented” him as having motives and intentions that were never there.
“This attribution of incentives creates an impression of conflict which we don’t share or wish to cultivate,” said Theodorou.
“That is why we have ignored the tone of the letter which surprised us,” he said, adding: “The Attorney-general has every right to have legal opinions and we have every duty to respect them and implement them when we ask for them.”
Former Attorney-general Alecos Markides joined in the fray yesterday pointing out that Nikitas’ decision not to approve pardons for 102 inmates did not violate the constitution as some had claimed in the aftermath of his rejection.
But Markides highlighted that the constitution provided that presidential pardons needed the joint approval of the Attorney-general and his deputy. In this case, the deputy had not been consulted because of an apparent rift between the two.
The former Attorney-general also noted that this was the first time that the Justice Ministry had got involved in presidential pardons, which made the job of the Attorney-general and his deputy harder and put them in a difficult position.
State Prosecutor Akis Papasavvas, however, unleashed a scathing attack on the his chief, describing the content of Nikitas’ rejection letter as non-legal, unconstitutional, sarcastic and arrogant.
DISY leader, Nicos Anastassiades, said the whole affair showed bad handling on the part of the government. He said he could not understand why correspondence was not between the president and the Attorney-general over the pardons list, questioning the role of the Justice Ministry. He added that there were no specific dates for the president to exercise the constitutional privilege to issue pardons, saying it was wrong of Nikitas to raise that issue. He called for dialogue to mend the bad image created by the affair.
New Horizons leader Nicos Koutsou, however, blamed parliament for the mess. He said greatest responsibility lies with the House of Representatives, which passed laws that sent people to jail for very minor offences, including debtors or illegal immigrants. He pointed out his was the only party that did not vote for debtors to go to criminal courts and sentenced to jail. He called for a changes in the law so people would not be sent to jail for minor offences.
