President says everything will investigated in monastery scandal

President Nikos Christodoulides said on Friday that everything will be investigated at the Osiou Avakoum monastery, where scandals have been rife.

Asked to comment on a statement by opposition Akel blaming the government for failures in dealing with the issue, Christodoulides said that the scandal in no way exposes failures of the government.

Speaking before an event for woman refugees, he said: “What I want to assure Akel – we are also in an election campaign and I am sure that we will hear statements of this kind every day – not only Akel, but the entire Cypriot people, and I want to be unequivocal, from the state’s point of view everything will be done, so that if there is a case, it will be brought to justice and if it is brought to justice, I hope, without interfering with the judiciary, that things will run quickly there too.”

The instructions, he added, are clear.

He added that he is “in contact with the minister of justice, there is an ongoing investigation into various allegations in relation to police responsibilities. Everything will proceed, there is – and this is a public promise to the Cypriot people – nothing, nothing, we will not let it go un-investigated”.

Earlier, criticism rained down on the police over the way they have handled the monks’ scandal so far, with the force denying special treatment to the church because of its powerful influence.

In a press briefing, police spokesman Christos Andreou rejected accusations of delays surrounding the investigation.