Legal service told to explain itself over Syllouris, Giovanis acquittal

The state legal service must explain itself in light of the acquittal of former House president Demetris Syllouris and former Akel MP Christakis Giovanis in the case regarding the alleged illegal naturalisations of people as citizens of the Republic of Cyprus, commonly known as the ‘golden passports scandal’, high-profile lawyer Elias Stephanou said on Thursday.

“We should not rush ahead, however, regardless of what is recorded in the decision, there are issues on which the legal service must take a position regarding the way it handled witnesses, especially those who did not come to testify,” he told the Cyprus News Agency.

His comments came after it emerged that some prosecution witnesses were not called to testify during the trial, and on this matter, he pointed out that some witnesses “were suspected of committing criminal offences and given immunity so that they could become witnesses”.

“It must take a position on the manner in which these witnesses … whom the prosecution considers to be unreliable, were handled, because they changed the positions they had stated before the investigating authorities,” he said.

He added that he “would expect positions or explanations regarding the manner in which the legal service will handle issues which will not be discussed in the context of the appeal” which the legal service intends to file against the decision.

“The second thing I would expect, especially after such a case, is that there would be self-criticism as to whether and at what stage mistakes were made,” he said.

On this matter, he pointed out that any appeals court may reach different conclusions and that as such, “whatever we are discussing at this point may be irrelevant in time”.

However, he did note that the legal service’s right to appeal the ruling “only concerns legal points”, and that as such, “the issues of witnesses’ credibility have been decided by the court of first instance and will not be re-examined on appeal”.

“Therefore, it is only on legal points, on the facts as they were submitted and considered, that the appeal will be judged – on whether the decision contains legal errors,” he said.

To this end, he stressed that the court of appeal will only re-evaluate testimony which has already been admitted in the court of first instance.

“The court of appeal judges on the basis of existing records. Witnesses who were deemed credible, especially those of the defence, cannot be re-examined by the court of appeal,” he said.

“We should be very sparing in any of our positions regarding a judicial decision … which in any case will be decided by the court of appeal,” he warned, before adding that recent high-profile cases may erode public trust in the judiciary.

“The public’s feeling is a result not only of this decision, but of a series of decisions. It has to do more generally with the issue of credibility and public trust in institutions which are devoid of purpose,” he said.

“It is the responsibility of the authorities to find a way over time, not with words, but with actions, to restore trust in the entire system, especially criminal justice, which is a cornerstone of justice more broadly, and the credibility of both the courts and the entire system,” he said.

Syllouris and Giovanis were both found not guilty of all charges on Tuesday, though the Nicosia criminal court’s decision was not unanimous.

The court stated that it had identified “substantive gaps” in evidence provided by the prosecution, but the legal service swiftly set out its intention to appeal.

The case had come to light after Al Jazeera aired an almost hour-long exposé of the scandal in October 2020. Both men resigned following the film’s publishing.

In the documentary, undercover reporters played the role of agents acting on behalf of a fictional Chinese businessman with a criminal record, aiming to secure him Cypriot citizenship.

Syllouris, Giovani, and others were shown offering to help the man in his quest for citizenship despite his criminal record.

The Al Jazeera was not submitted as evidence in the trial, but after it was aired the government of the day then scrapped Cyprus’ citizenship by investment scheme, with the European Union having launched legal proceedings over claims the scheme had been used to sell passports to dubious individuals.