Journalist was ‘tortured’ by CyBC employment conditions

President Nikos Christodoulides can stop the state broadcaster (CyBC) from appealing a court decision to pay €1 million in damages to journalist Evdokia Loizou, her lawyer said on Thursday.

The statements come after a 13-year legal battle, in which Nicosia district court found Loizou’s encephalitis were linked to the working conditions at CyBC.

As such, the broadcaster has been ordered to pay €925,00 in damages, along with VAT, interest, and legal fees to Loizou.

Nonetheless, CyBC said it would appeal the ruling.

In a press conference on Thursday, Loizou said “I experienced torture” after the slew of issues surrounding both her medical issues as well as the legal wrangling.

Loizou told journalists she was mistreated and mocked by state officials.

She specified that when she brought up her medical problems to CyBC, no one supported her. “On the contrary, they doubted me and mocked me, making up go to a sham medical board meeting, with a psychiatrist.

“They ignored medical reports from doctors in London, as well as the Cypriot neurologists and pneumologists.

“I suffered from encephalitis, not schizophrenia,” she stressed.

Although a doctor from the labour inspection department in 2012 reported that Loizou’s disease was caused by her workplace, this was not heeded by the state broadcaster.

In the press conference, her lawyer Michael Vorkas said President Nikos Christodoulides is the only one who can put a stop to the CyBC’s appeal.

This is because the president appoints the CyBC’s board and “he has a say over what happens in all public organisations, which belong to the state.”