A meeting to examine the results of the investigations into the case of the Monastery of St. Avvakum has been convened by the Attorney General, Giorgos Savvidis, as he mentioned while speaking to journalists, on the sidelines of the Administrative Law Conference at the University of Cyprus. He noted that after the meeting he will be able to have a clearer picture of the conclusions reached.
"It's a very broad issue," he said in response to a question about the developments in the case, adding that "now that the different levels and the criminal investigators we appointed have had the opportunity to conduct some work, I intend to and we have already called all the investigators and investigators to come to a meeting at the Legal Service, so that we can evaluate the matter so far."
Statements for Anti-Corruption Authority investigation, criminal prosecution of Katsounotou, multiple pensions
In a question about the investigation launched by the Anti-Corruption Authority in relation to the references in a book by Makarios Drousiotis about the governance of Nikos Anastasiadis, Mr. Savvidis noted that "we are running for something that we don't know what its evolution will be" .
"The respect we have for the Independent Anti-Corruption Authority is a given," he added, saying that the Legal Service had also demonstrated this in handling the case against the Assistant Attorney General.
"Regarding my relations with the former President of the Republic, I believe that the honest and correct thing would be what I did, not to hide from anyone the personal relationship of friendship that has connected us for 40 years", continued the Attorney General .
"From there, if and as long as any conditions are created that the Legal Service will be called upon to make decisions, you know very well that there are ways to resolve any relationships, or conflicts," he noted. When asked if he will be excluded from any process, he did not want to take a position at this stage and repeated that he did the right thing by not hiding his personal relationship with Nikos Anastasiadis.
Also, to a question about the criminal prosecution against Katsounotos, he said that he would not like to make a public statement. "There is communication from my office with the independent authority and I do not want to reveal anything about this communication," he said and referred to the Authority for information.
When asked if the lack of information confirms those who speak of obfuscation surrounding the decisions of the Legal Service, Mr. Savvidis said that at some point the decision will be made public. "Despite the fact that many accuse us of limiting ourselves to saying our decisions without explaining them, I believe that in most decisions that have concerned public opinion, we have given many pages and very explanatory decisions and if necessary we will do so here and in any another case is of public interest," he said.
Asked about the issue of multiple pensions for officials, the Attorney General said bills have been drawn up by the Ministry of Finance, in consultation with the Legal Service. "From there on, the issue is political, that is, whether the Parliament will disagree with their philosophy and propose something else, which is a matter that does not concern us, it concerns the state, the executive and the legislative" he said.
He also added that "with the issued decisions of the court, it is not so easy to make such regulations that affect pensions that have already crystallized, so we must be careful in the legislative regulation, so that it does not collide again with unconstitutional provisions."