MPs press for justice in Takata airbag tragedy

Families of two young people killed by defective Takata airbags told the House human rights committee on Monday that Cypriot authorities have left them “in the dark” nearly two years after the first fatal incident.

During the session, the committee reviewed the enforcement of law 51(I)/2016 on the protection and support of crime victims, together with the findings of the official inquiry into the Takata airbag deaths.

Maria Loui, mother of 21-year-old Kyriakos Oxinos, who was killed in January 2023, addressed MPs, saying the families had received no updates despite the inquiry report being delivered in July 2025.

She warned that if justice was not served, they would appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. Loui also referred to the death of 23-year-old Styliani Giorgalli, who died in a separate Takata airbag explosion in October 2024, questioning why the inquiry only covered incidents up to 2023.

“For us, it is unthinkable not to investigate 2024 as well,” she said.

“We believe the police and the Law Office must do their work properly and assign responsibility. Justice for our children is the least comfort we can have.”

She added that, despite reports of recommendations for criminal and disciplinary action, families have received no formal communication from authorities.

Committee chairwoman Irene Charalambides said after the meeting that the body would continue to monitor the issue until justice is delivered.

“The human rights committee will return to the matter of the killing of these two young people until accountability is achieved,” she said.

Charalambides said that, although parliament had passed a law in 2022 to guarantee victims’ rights, families were still not being informed about the progress of investigations, a violation, she said, of article 8 of law 51(I)/2016, which obliges authorities to keep victims or their relatives updated. She also questioned why the inquiry’s timeframe ended in 2023, despite Giorgalli’s death the following year.

“It is incomprehensible why the attorney-general ordered the investigation to stop at 2023, especially when parliament revisited the issue that same year,” Charalambides said, asking whether the authorities would also review the role of transport department officials whose alleged inaction might have contributed to the second tragedy.

She added that questions of “interests and collusion” could not be ruled out, referring to “criminal negligence” by state services.

The committee announced it would send a formal letter to the chief of police seeking clear answers on whether investigations have been extended to cover 2023 and 2024.

MP Alexandra Attalides described the Takata airbag affair as “a major scandal” and “clear proof that the state failed to enforce the law and protect victims.” She pointed out that 14 years after the global recall of Takata airbags began, Cyprus still had thousands of affected vehicles immobilised and two fatalities linked to the defect.

“This is not just a scandal, it is a tragedy that shows laws exist only on paper,” Attalides said. Commenting on recent government support measures, such as free transport tickets and weekly allowances for vulnerable groups, she called them “a first but inadequate step.”

“What happens to the children of these families? Who takes them to school? What happens at night when there are no buses? These questions remain unanswered. Victim support is not charity, it is a legal duty,” she added.

Attalides called for full political, disciplinary and criminal accountability, proper compensation for victims and a structural reform of the system that, as she said, “allowed this tragedy to happen.”

She pledged that her party, Volt, would continue to pursue the matter “until justice is served.”