Panagiotis, Stylianos, Elena and Maria are some of the cases punched in the stomach. Cases of children next door who illuminated in the worst way the holes of the welfare state.
SigmaLive on the occasion of the decision of the Larnaca Criminal Court for the undefeated Panagiotis Stefanis from Troullos, brings back cases that also shocked but apparently did not deliver the required lessons.
16-year-old Panagiotis, bullying and alcohol
We start with the shocking case concerning the death of 16-year-old Panagiotis from Troullos.
The case ended with the sentence of 18 months imprisonment with suspension imposed by the Larnaca Criminal Court on the 3 young people who were found guilty for the death of 16-year-old Panagiotis. This case was the first bulling case to concern the Cypriot Justice.
The defendants were found guilty of unintentionally causing the death of 16-year-old Panagiotis Stefanis, urging him to consume a large amount of alcohol, resulting in acute alcohol poisoning which caused him anesthesia and suppression of his reflexes.
As a result of consuming a large amount of alcohol, Panagiotis vomited, while then vomit was aspirated, which caused suffocation and death.
According to the Court's ruling, the three defendants were found guilty of causing death by reckless, reckless or dangerous act.
Referring to the events, the judge said that on the night of April 14, 2019, "the defendants tried to control Panagiotis' resistance to alcohol, the result being fatal, disastrous and irreversible. The three undertook to get Panagiotis drunk, who alone, without anyone to support him and with everyone making fun of him, was sitting among them who undertook to control how much the drink "rises".
He added that "the surrounding circumstances are particularly sad, to become even more distressing, watching in the audiovisual material, the actions of all those who at the moment, before the action, which resulted in death, applauded, had fun and did not react. The inevitable conclusion is the deafening failure of society, when we got to the point where the Court is expected to impose punishment because basic institutions failed to be self-evident, that is, to act preventively, to institutionalize, to educate, to inform, to intervene and to prevent such behaviors.
The death of 14-year-old Stylianos
The death of 14-year-old Stylianos, who ended his life inside his father's farm in 2019, caused shock.
The Commissioner's conclusion attributes criminal and disciplinary responsibilities to Welfare Services officials and the Police. Specifically, there are offenses for four officials of the Welfare Services, for front line police officers and for a third person, who does not belong to the Public Service. In the conclusion, the Commissioner, referring to the Social Welfare Services, emphasizes that "for the time in question of the suicide attempt there is complete indifference and no assessment of any risk resulting in no action, no assessment, no specialized support and no interest in the issue. Stylianou ".
Case of Elena Frantzis
A similar case was the one that shocked Cyprus in 2018, after the suicide of 29-year-old Elena Frantzis, who was raped for 4 years by the priest, her stepfather. Elena was given to a foster family from an early age, as her mother, who experienced the murder of her own mother, was facing a problem with addictions. Elena's stepfather abused her sexually, while her mother also used physical violence against her.
At the age of just 10, Elena reported the incident to the Welfare Office, but no one believed her. The young girl's martyrdom continued for a few more years, when at the age of 20 she decided to speak in court as a prosecution witness against her stepfather. The court sentenced the priest to two years in prison, a decision that provoked strong reactions from the villagers, while her adoptive mother was not charged.
The murder of 9-year-old Maria
Another case being monitored by the Welfare Office was the unprecedented fratricide, which took place a year ago in Larnaca. The victim of the savage murder is 9-year-old Maria, a Romanian citizen of Roma origin, and the perpetrator is her 13-year-old brother, who killed her with a series of knives. At the time of the murder, the two children were alone in the house where they were staying with their father.
The man had custody of the children as he was divorced from his wife and the mother of a 9-year-old and a 13-year-old.
Source: sigmalive