Fitiris offers olive branch to Annie Alexui: ‘There are ways to get around the warrants’

Justice Minister Costas Fitiris on Friday extended an olive branch to social media personality Ioanna Photiou, who is better known by her alias ‘Annie Alexui’, saying that there are “ways to get around” the arrest warrants put out in her name, so as to allow her to make a statement to the police regarding accusations she has made against public figures.

He set out three ways through which Photiou, who is currently in self-imposed exile in Russia, could make a statement during an appearance on television channel Ant1.

“The first choice is for [her] to go and make a statement to the police force of the state, so, of the Republic of Cyprus, and to give all the information over. That has been refused by Photiou herself, and I understand why, because there are warrants out for her arrest, because, like she says, she does not have trust,” he began.

The second way, he said, is for her to give a statement outside of Cyprus to a “team” sent by the Cypriot police.

Asked whether such a team would be able to travel to Russia, he said the government is at present not sure, before saying that the third choice would be for Photiou to make a statement via a lawyer.

He said a statement could also be made to himself, and that the lawyer would retain a copy of her statement, offer it to the authorities, and thus allow an investigation to begin.

“If she wishes, through a lawyer whom she trusts, to hand over the information, even to me, here, with transparency, and for copies to be retained, and for the handing over and receipt of information to happen, with a report signed by her, that is a choice, which, if Photiou wishes to do it, we are here,” he said.

He then said that Photiou “may have a lawyer in Cyprus whom she trusts” and through whom she could make a statement, and that from there, “the investigation process can begin”.

Asked about the state of the arrest warrants put out in Photiou’s name, he said that “I believe that there are ways to get around the warrants”, and that “this is a decision to be made by the legal service and the police”, before returning to the prospect of a written statement being made through her lawyer.

“She has a lawyer in Cyprus, as she said. Let her forward that information through her lawyer in Cyprus, I will receive it,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Photiou had threatened to take the Cypriot government to a European court, saying that “the Cypriot government will pay for what it did to me and for the violation of my human rights”.

She had also offered harsh words for Fitiris, asking “does he minister think that my life is a toy in his hands? A toy for the media?”.

Later, she said that she calls Fitiris “firfiris” and that she has “no confidence” in him.

The most notable of the accusations made by Photiou relate to suspended Paphos mayor Phedonas Phedonos, whom she has accused of domestic abuse.

She has claimed to hold documents from the related to admissions of Phedonos’ wife Louiza Andreou to the Nicosia general hospital in 2017, which stated that she had been “beaten” by Phedonos.

Andreou has vehemently denied all accusations made against her husband, writing in a post on social media that “my family is being subjected to a coordinated attack”.

Phedonos was formally removed from his rolelast week, with an appeal he filed against his removal having failed at the administrative court on Thursday.