The episodic presence of the former President of the Republic in the Research Committee for the Economy causes controversies and controversies. Yesterday, there was a second half, which took place on two levels. In political and legal."The Investigative Committee for the Economy, in addition to the manifestation of the illegality of its appointment, has, by its actions and omissions, unfortunately, placed itself in institutional and legal disrepute". The above were supported yesterday in a press conference by the legal advisers of the former President of the Republic Dimitris Christofias, George Serafeim and Aristos Damianou.
Commenting on the events that took place before the Commission the day before yesterday during the arrival of Mr. Christofias, who finally did not testify and left, the two lawyers, after expressing their disappointment, stated that the credibility of the Commission was undermined by obviously wrong and wrong actions and decisions by the President himself and its members.
In their statements, the two lawyers noted that Mr. Christofias did not refuse in any case to answer questions from the members of the Commission, on the contrary, the Commission denied Mr. Christofias basic rules of natural justice, that is, to be heard by her. The former president, his lawyers added, had been heavily charged before her and should have given him the right to comment on the allegations before answering questions.
They also raise the question of how disrespectful the institutions are to the behavior of the former President, when he appeared before the Commission and asked to read first his written statement, as allowed by the Law on Research Committees and the Proof of Law.
During the press conference it was said that Mr. Christofias's statement was submitted in its entirety to the Commission of Inquiry, something that the Commission is completely paralyzed for obvious reasons.
The legal representatives of the former President also clarified that:
(a) The appointment of the members of the Commission of Inquiry must have been made by the Attorney General and not by the Council of Ministers. This makes this Commission incompetent and therefore illegal.
(b) A member of the Research Committee maintains a close relationship with a legal advisor of the Bank of Cyprus, as they are in-laws, a fact that should lead him to not accept his appointment and / or to resign and / or to be fired by the appointee organ.
(c) Mr. Christofias had the right not to reply even though he never denied such a thing.
(d) The Commission of Inquiry twice refused to receive the written statement of the former President as part of his testimony and was stated by Mr. Pikis in a reasonable remark by Mr. Christofias that this is also done in the Court, ie that they are not given or submitted written statements to the Court. And this at the moment that in the Law of Evidence Chapter 9 is explicitly given such a possibility to a witness according to article 25.
(e) The members of the Research Committee refused to give Mr. Christofias copies of the deposits in their possession, in order to give the appropriate answers, despite the fact that the hearing process is made public.
Finally, the statements of the two lawyers are dominated by the claim that the Commission of Inquiry abolished itself with an interim decision on June 25, when it interpreted and limited the scope and responsibilities of its powers, exposing itself completely and conclusively to the role of examining and rendering civil liabilities essentially for the major events in the banking sector.
The political forces demand respect for the institutions
The noise caused by the appearance of the former President of the Republic before the Committee of Inquiry into the economy continues, with the political forces sending the message that everyone is required to respect the institutions.
DISY's legal advisor, Chris Triantaphyllides, referring to the events of the day before yesterday, stressed that everyone "regardless of who they are" must "show respect for the institutions and everyone is equal before the law". According to Mr. Triantaphyllides, this respect must be shown even more by someone who until a few months ago was President of the Republic of Cyprus. He further stressed that another institution, that of the Attorney General, is called "to apply this parity of all citizens before the law."
DIKO expresses its regret because the attitude and behavior of Mr. Christofias "intensify the general disparaging attitude of society towards the institutions and organs of the state and politics". According to Kikis Theodotou, the refusal of the former President to respond to the procedures of the Research "constitutes an unacceptable act of disrespect and disobedience to the institutional and constitutional functions of a benevolent state." He also spoke of a "dangerous game of party and micropolitical tactics" played by Mr. Christofias and AKEL.
In a statement, the DIKO MP, Nikolas Papadopoulos, noted that the appearance of Mr. Christofias was proportionate and worthy of his five-year rule. In other words, he was contemptuous of the institutions, was characterized by ignorance of the situation in the country, was distinguished for his obsession with blaming everyone else, addressed only AKEL party officials, did not answer any question and disappointed the entire Cypriot people.
EUROCO characterizes as unacceptable the attempt of AKEL to present Mr. Christofias "as a victim of political persecution". Michalis Giorgallas noted that "Mr. Christofias is neither accused nor prosecuted" and underlined that "on the contrary he was given the opportunity to submit his own position", but "he chose not to do so by demanding to be above the law". EUROCO notes that "the verification of equality and equality is now in the hands of the Attorney General".
The Ecologists spoke about a well-staged theatrical performance and an attempt by AKEL to challenge the Commission and its conclusion. They also wondered if they were trying to stop the scandals and abuses of the AKEL-Christofias government from coming to light.
Source: FILELEFTHEROS