Police-chief Themistos Arnaoutis is among 15 officers that independent criminal investigators recommended for criminal prosecution on Tuesday in relation to alleged failures in the handling of domestic violence complaints before the 2019 suicide of 14-year-old Stylianos Constantinou.

Independent investigators Andreas Andreou and Modestos Pogiadjis confirmed they had concluded there were grounds for criminal liability for multiple police officers, including senior officials, following their examination of repeated complaints made over several years to police stations.

Andreou told the court that “we made recommendations” for the prosecution of 15 officers in total, but said the attorney-general’s office in 2021 proceeded with charges against only one police officer while declining to prosecute the others.

Arnaoutis, who at the time of several of the incidents was serving as head of Pera Chorio police station, appears on the list of officers identified in the administrative and criminal investigation findings.

The case concerns 21 recorded reports made by Stylianos’ mother between 2007 and 2013, involving allegations of domestic violence, threats and assaults.

According to the police report presented in court, many of these complaints were registered in station logs but were subsequently marked as closed without further investigation or escalation.

The report states that in multiple instances officers failed to initiate investigations, compile full case files or notify relevant authorities as required under police regulations and circulars.

It also records that in 19 of the 21 complaints the complainant did not provide a written statement or requested that no action be taken against her husband, which officers often cited when closing cases.

However, the findings also state that officers were still required to proceed with investigations regardless of victim consent in domestic violence cases, particularly where minors were involved.

The administrative investigation identifies potential disciplinary offences including negligence of duty, omission and disobedience, concluding that “reasonable suspicions are raised” for involvement of multiple officers across different incidents.

Stylianos was found dead at the family farm on September 5, 2019. His two younger siblings were removed from the family home after his death.