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Our View: There’s no reason why politicians should be exempt from prosecution
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DIKO LEADER Marios Garoyian wasted no time taking a stand against the Attorney-general’s decision to bring criminal charges in connection with the Mari blast against the member of his party and former foreign minister Marcos Kyprianou.
In a written statement, which in another country would have been deemed a clear attempt to influence the course of justice, Garoyian not only questioned the decision, but accused the Attorney-general of “targeting Kyprianou, as a scapegoat,” an act “lacking in moral or legal justification.”
It was a quite astonishing outburst against the Attorney-general, whom he also accused of “criminalising political responsibilities” for the sake of “expediency and creating impressions”. He was “deeply concerned with the development the search for those guilty for the recent national tragedy was taking,” and concluded that “the criminalisation of politics constitutes a dangerous deviation from every notion of legal and democratic order.”
We cannot say whether this outburst was the result of arrogance or ignorance, but what we can say is that it shows a general contempt for the justice system and the institution of the Attorney-general, whose decision it was to bring charges against Kyrpianou. Interestingly, Garoyian and his party lambasted the president, when he refused to accept the findings of the Polyviou investigation into the Mari blast, accusing him of showing contempt for state institutions.
But who is showing utter contempt for a state institution now? Garoyian has accused the Attorney-general of wanting to make Kyprianou a scapegoat, of taking decisions based on expediency rather than the law and ignoring legal order. A man, who served as House president for three years, should know better than to undermine a state institution so provocatively and try to dictate to the courts, before a trial has even begun, that one of the suspects charged was not guilty of any wrongdoing.
We would also like to take issue with Garoyian’s nonsensical claim that “criminalising political responsibility” endangered democratic order. Surely when a political decision leads to the death of innocent people, the perpetrator should face criminal charges. Why should politicians be exempt from prosecution when decisions they have taken may have caused death?
In fairness no other politician seems to have repeated Garoyian’s warped logic. On the contrary, many have been asking why the Attorney-general had not examined the possibility that President Christofias could be charged. If ministers could be suspected of criminal responsibility, why not the president? The issue is complex, as the president enjoys immunity, which could only be lifted, in exceptional circumstances, by the Supreme Court, after an application by the Attorney-general.
In fairness, the Attorney-general should be commended for bringing charges against ministers, rather than criticised, because their testimony in court could lead to the president being prosecuted, once he leaves office.
