An appeal was lodged on Thursday against Deputy Tourism Minister Costas Koumis’ suggestion that his ministry’s permanent secretary Neophytos Papadopoulos be suspended.

The rift between Koumis and Papadopoulou first arose in the aftermath of an Iranian-made drone being fired at Cyprus in March, with the former believing it would cause a tourism crisis and the latter disagreeing.

The appeal with the Public Service Commission was filed by Papadopoulos’ lawyer Chris Triantafyllides, who argued that suspending the permanent secretary could not be justified by the facts of the case and did not safeguard public interest.

Triantafyllides said the procedure lacked legality and that the deputy minister’s appointment itself was unconstitutional.

He furthermore said Koumis’ letter to President Nikos Christodoulides and the cabinet, the cabinet minutes and the suggestions to the Public Service Commission contained offences for which an internal investigation was called for.

Triantafyllides said the cabinet’s minutes did not contain special reasons to justify why it activated an article allowing the issue to be forwarded to the commission.

All evidence, he added, was broadly available, as it included office correspondence, digital files and other exchanges with multiple recipients.

Added to the fact that deputy ministry officers have already expressed their views in writing, it was not necessary to remove Papadopoulos from his position to protect evidence, Triantafyllides argued.

“Removing my client at this stage does not strengthen, but weakens the administrative continuity and the ability of the deputy ministry to meet its current obligations,” Triantafyllides added.

He said removing Papadopoulos would also impact project presentations and public interest.

The appeal also mentions inadequate justification for citing public interest and that there were no specific incidents to document attempted interventions or efforts to alter evidence or influence witnesses.

“Suspending my client constitutes neither a necessary nor a suitable measure … the investigation can be conducted fully, independently and unhindered, with him being present for his duties, as the relevant evidence is already recorded, those involved are known and official procedures can develop without an institutional gap.”