The family of a 17-year-old who died in a car accident has accused the police of lying to the public saying that no justice has been served, 11 years after the teen’s death.
For weeks, social media has been awash with discussions over the still unsolved case of Andreas Loizou, who was killed in Limassol while driving on his motorbike in September 2012.
Police have denied accusations that they tried to bury the case under the carpet due to one of the suspects allegedly being the daughter of a political person.
On Thursday, police spokesman Christos Andreou told the Cyprus News Agency they would be speaking to the family again and if there was any new information, the police would re-examine the case.
In a statement, Loizou’s family condemned posts which suggested they had been bribed to keep their silence over the accident.
“These people should only feel ashamed for sharing their own scenarios over what happened without knowing the facts.”
Andreou said according to the case investigator, officers met with family members at least three times and had almost daily contact with another relative.
Nonetheless, the family denied this. “This is simply not true. Beyond the one time they visited us, no one contacted us again.”
One person was arrested but was not taken to court as they did not appear to be the primary cause of the accident. The family has since rebuked this, saying the individual played a role in Loizou’s death.
“We want the case to be re-examined so justice can be served for our Andreas (Loizou) after so many years. We call on those who really know what happened and have evidence, to contact us.”
The accident took place on September 2, 2012 under the bridge on the Limassol-Nicosia highway towards Mouttayiaka.
In the early hours of the morning, a woman tried to overtake two motorbikes and went in the opposite lane. Her move cut off an incoming vehicle, and in an attempt to avoid her, swerved and crashed into Loizou’s motorbike.
The woman fled the scene while Loizou died four days later.
The following year, Loizou’s father was diagnosed with leukaemia and died.
In March, police denied they had covered up the case, after members of the public noticed press releases from the date of the accident had disappeared from the website.
Inconsistencies were also noticed, as the first press release stated a light-coloured A3 or A4 convertible Audi was the initial car (connected to a political person) that led to the accident.
A subsequent statement however declared it could have been a different car.
There were also questions over why police had struggled to locate a convertible Audi in Limassol, suggesting there can’t have been that many.
Former Justice Minister Emily Yiolitis also commented on the matter after there were allegations she was involved or aware of the issue at the time. Some posts even suggested she had received her ministerial post as a thank you for her silence.
“This is a very heavy accusation,” she tweeted on Tuesday. “I have no relation with a road death and I call on all of those who published or republished the matter to document their sources or apologise.” She also called on the police to take a stance a matter.
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