Tales from the Coffeeshop: One more extension ought to do it

THE INHUMANITY the Paphos authorities have shown in the treatment of the British father, whose three-year-old son was killed, after falling out of a fourth-floor hotel window in Paphos last Sunday, was disgusting.

On Monday, less than 24 hours after this tragic accident, the inconsolable, grieving father was taken to court, where the investigating officer requested an eight-day remand order, and the judge, displaying his great wisdom, granted it, without asking any questions.

Cops are not known for their intelligence, but what was the excuse of the Paphos judge for allowing this cruelty to be perpetrated? Was there a flight risk or was there the slightest danger that the father would tamper with evidence or try to influence witnesses?

And was the case a big mystery that the Paphos cops would require eight days to crack? If a remand order had to be issued, why had the judge not limited it to two or three days. That would have been more than enough time even for the incompetent, slow Paphos cops to complete the investigation.

THE TRUTH is everyone knew what happened – the father gave a statement and there was apparently CCTV in the hotel corridor where the accident happened – so there was no need whatsoever to keep the man, who had just suffered the most devastating tragedy of his life, in a stinking cell for eight days.

Had the Paphos cop command and courts, which have a reputation of turning a blind eye to offences committed by Paphites, picked on a foreigner, who had just suffered the loss of his child, to show that there is strict law enforcement in their village-town? What they showed was a frightening callousness for the pain and suffering of a fellow human being.

My congratulations to Phil’s angry columnist Giorgos Kallinikou who, on Saturday, directed the full force of his anger at this inhuman behaviour, ending his article thus: “Simply, shame.”

WHEN the Paphos police were contacted by the Mail, after the court appearance and asked about the unjustified length of the remand, they said that the man could be released earlier. On Friday morning an officer told the paper the investigation had been completed, and the findings were submitted for legal examination.

He said he expected the man would be released, subject to strict restrictions, while the legal process continued. The AG would have to decide whether to prosecute after examining the police report. But was he released on Friday?

No, and the pathetic excuse given by the cops was that the results of the ‘toxicology tests’ he had been subjected to (the cops wanted to establish if he was drunk or drugged when the accident occurred) were still pending. How his release would affect the toxicology tests, only someone with the intelligence and appalling insensitivity of a Paphos cop can tell us.

I would not be surprised if on Tuesday the judge renews the remand order because the toxicology tests were still not ready.

WHEN the video about the dubious ways in which Preznitktwo was collecting money for his election campaign and for his wife’s charity that was a vehicle for rusfeti, the government decided that an investigation should be conducted.

The investigation would not focus on what the film revealed – that would be rather embarrassing for the Prez – but on finding out who had tricked the Prez’s associates into talking about cash donations and secretly filming them. The investigation aimed at uncovering the perpetrators and who was funding them started in January.

The man appointed criminal investigator was Andreas Paschalides, the President of Aadipa – Independent Authority for Investigation of Claims and Complaints against the Police. He has still not completed his investigation, six months after he commenced.

It was meant to be completed in mid-April, but he requested a two-month extension until June 15. In June he asked for another extension and was given until July 20. Will it be ready by tomorrow or is another extension looming?

A week or so before the latest deadline, Paschalides was given another five-year term as president of Aadipa by the government. He had already been in the post for 10 years. I am certain that another five years in a well-paid public post will in no way have influenced the findings of the videogate report, which for some strange reason could not be completed before Paschalides’ third term was approved by cabinet.

AUTOCRATIC bureaucrat, Irini Loizidou Nicolaidou, who was devastated when the government refused to grant her another term as Commissioner for the Protection of Personal Data has found another post which will allow her to terrorise businesses with her petty legalistic thinking.

She has not stayed out of the public limelight, which she obviously adores, for very long. In June she appeared on a radio show to talk about her new role. She was appointed director of the Broadcasting Authority and Digital Services, a position from which she could use her Javert-like qualities to bring into line TV bosses and the owners of websites.

If only the AG had given her the investigation of Videogate, she may have got another five years as commissioner for personal data, a post in which she thrived because it was high profile and allowed her to make frequent public appearances. The Broadcasting Authority has a much smaller audience and is a much smaller stage for a media star like Loizidou Nicolaidou.

STAYING on the issue of public appointments, impressive to see that family values are still important at the Cyprus Theatre Organisation (Thoc). Last Sunday, the Thoc board unanimously approved the appointment of Marina Maleni Kyriazi as its general manager.

The new GM is following in the footsteps of her husband, Varnavas Kyriazis, who had served as the GM of Thoc from 2007 to 2012. He had also been employed as an actor at Thoc back in the day when the organization treated actors as public servants and had them on the payroll even if they had no role to play.

If I am not mistaken Marina’s mum was also a public employee actor at Thoc some time ago.

CHRISTINA Yiannaki, the all-powerful former perm sec of the health ministry whom all politicians worshipped because she arranged the best possible healthcare for them and their families, may have gone into retirement but she may still have a big role in the health sector.

On Tuesday she was at a fashionable Nicosia restaurant having lunch with a former and a current health minister, both of this government. She arrived in a smart white trouser suit, accompanied by a young woman who may have been her secretary, and former health minister Michalis Damianos, currently the energy minister, was waiting for her.

The last to arrive was the Health Minister Neophytos Charalambides. I regret to say that I was sat too far away from this health summit to hear a single thing they said.

A VISIT to the presidential palace for a meeting with the Prez appears to have become a weekly fixture for the Diko leadership. This was the third week in succession in which Ethnarch Junior drove up the hill to meet Nik II and this time, according to reports, he was accompanied by the Diko secretariat.

How many Dikoids there are in the secretariat, I know not. It is unclear whether a bus was needed to carry them. What was clear is that the haggling over the planned cabinet reshuffle is still going strong and the secretariat may have been taken to boost Junior’s bargaining power. Some reports claim Junior wants seven ministries, but I suspect this is fake news. What is more plausible is the rumour that the Prez is having difficulty finding anyone to appoint, because they would not be serving the minimum 21 months to be entitled to a payoff and state pension.

Without the incentive of a pension there are not too many people wishing to serve the public.