Attorney General Solon Nikitas has announced that he will submit his resignation to President of the Republic Tassos Papadopoulos.
In a written statement, he expresses ‘regret’ at a decision by the Supreme Court, by nine votes to three, to acquit former Health Minister Constantina Akkelidou of charges of interfering with the course of justice.
‘There is no meaning in me continuing to serve from this high office of Attorney General of the Republic. This would be contrary to my vision about justice and to everything I have done all these years, with many dangers, for the prevalence of justice. Subsequently I will submit my resignation to the President of the Republic,’ the statement said.
The resignation follows the repeal of a District Court ruling which found Akkelidou guilty of interfering with the course of justice because she had sent a letter to a district judge in connection with a drugs case the judge was trying at the time.
Following her conviction by the Nicosia District Court, Akkelidou resigned her post as Health Minister. Last week she was appointed special adviser to European Commission for health and consumer protection, Cypriot Markos Kyprianou.
‘I have never commented on a Supreme Court decision. However, this case cannot go unnoticed. It is closely linked with the administration of justice, the principles of the rule of law and the democratic principle of separation of power. It also has to do with the existence, the maintenance and the quality of institutions in a fee and democratic society,’ the statement said.
Nikitas said this was not the time to make a legal analysis but he did want to outline the basic thinking behind the decision of the majority of the Supreme Court bench, which he said, ‘proves how unsubstantiated the decision is.’
‘In the case at hand, communication was not allowed but this did not amount to criminal communication. As, objectively, there was no possibility to cause any harm in the correct administration of justice,’ he added, referring to the decision of nine of the twelve judges of the Supreme Court, who exonerated Akkelidou.
‘The basic thinking behind the minority of the Supreme Court bench which gives the right legal dimension of the case is as follows:
The trend to influence, as an intention or possibility, is linked to the objective of the specific action and to the possibility of influencing the Court. It is the objective of the culprit that is of interest and not the actual consequence of the action,’ the Attorney General concluded.
