Papadakis to sue Drousiotis after ‘Sandy’ allegations collapse

Former MEP and deselected Alma candidate Demetris Papadakis announced on Wednesday that he will pursue legal action against Makarios Drousiotis, following police conclusions that the allegations were unsupported by evidence.

The development came hours after police-chief Themistos Arnaoutis confirmed that investigators had found no evidence to substantiate allegations involving sexual abuse, corruption, blackmail, surveillance and interference in state institutions.

Police concluded that disputed messages and audio recordings central to the claims were “false and fabricated”, while the legal service directed further examination of potential offences connected to “the creation, publication and public dissemination” of the material.

In a statement, Papadakis said the outcome of the investigation came as no surprise.

“From the very beginning, I declared that the messages concerning me were fabricated and had no connection to reality,” he said.

“Unfortunately, I fell victim to a major political conspiracy, the implications of which should be fully investigated,” he said.

The former MEP added that his priority was restoring his reputation after allegations which contributed to his removal from the electoral ballot of the political movement Alma ahead of the parliamentary elections.

“For me, what matters most is preserving my personal dignity and my name from all this conspiracy,” he said.

In April, Alma removed Papadakis from its election list after allegations published by Drousiotis linked him to disputed messages connected to wider claims surrounding a former Supreme Court judge.

Papadakis consistently denied the allegations and maintained that the material was fabricated.

A month later, Alma leader Odysseas Michaelides publicly acknowledged that the movement may have treated Papadakis unfairly, stating that “it is not excluded that we did Papadakis an injustice”.

“I will insist until the end for a full investigation of the case so that all those involved are identified,” Papadakis said. He confirmed that he is already in contact with his lawyers to initiate proceedings against Drousiotis and “any person who is shown to be behind this scheme”.