Anastasiades denies abuse-of-power allegations following Anti-Corruption Authority report
Former president Nikos Anastasiades has responded to allegations of abuse of power and corruption contained in a report by the Anti-Corruption Authority, claiming the allegations are slanderous and groundless.
Anastasiades denies abuse-of-power allegations following Anti-Corruption Authority report
Former president of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Anastasiades flatly rejected allegations against him of abuse of power and bribery, which are contained in a report issued by the Anti-Corruption Authority following an investigation it conducted regarding a book by his former associate and journalist Makarios Drousiotis titled "Mafia State".
In statements on Tuesday, Anastasiades accused critics of "mud-slinging", "toxicity" and "character assassination" following the public release of the findings. "Some did not need the findings to reach a decision. They had already made up their minds years ago," he stated characteristically, adding that his critics "are turning the inventor of the 'Sandy' case into a hero".
The former president also argued that his critics are violating the presumption of innocence, which he described as "a constitutional right". "Some are setting up courts of public opinion and condemning the 'guilty' based on the balance of probabilities," he stressed.
Anastasiades repeated that the allegations contained in the report differ from those made in Drousiotis's book. "After two and a half years of investigation, at a cost of 1.5 million euros, with 41 witnesses and 793 pieces of evidence, the slanderous allegations of the author are not included in the announcement, because they were not proven even to the minimal degree required in investigative procedures," he argued. According to him, these allegations are "slanderous and groundless".
In closing, the former president asked: "What do we want here; the rule of law or internet rule?" and called for action "against those who undermine it with fabrications, such as those written in Mafia State or elsewhere, such as in the 'Sandy' case".
The "Sandy" case concerns separate allegations made earlier this year by Drousiotis regarding a 45-year-old woman who claims she was raped and stabbed by former Supreme Court president Michalakas Christodoulou. Drousiotis also claims that Christodoulou fathered three children with the woman. Christodoulou maintains his innocence, while other public figures named in the related allegations have also denied the claims.
Source: Cyprus Mail