Police have filed a criminal case against journalist Makarios Drousiotis and a woman known publicly as ‘Sandy’, with both facing around 101 counts following an investigation into allegations that fabricated messages and false claims were used to accuse public figures of serious crimes.

The case was filed before the court on Friday at the behest of the legal service.

The counts reportedly relate to the alleged preparation of forged documents, circulation of forged documents, publication of false news and harassment. The case is due to be heard before the Nicosia criminal court.

Both Drousiotis and ‘Sandy’ have been served with indictments.

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The counts mark the latest development in an investigation that began after Drousiotis published a social media post naming individuals and making allegations relating to corruption, rape and other serious offences.

According to police findings announced last month, investigators concluded that both the allegations and the SMS messages relied upon during the case had been fabricated using a mobile application.

Police said the disputed material had been supplied to Drousiotis by Sandy, who, according to investigators, admitted during questioning that she had created the material.

The decision to prosecute follows the conclusion of an extensive police investigation which found no evidence to substantiate the allegations made against public officials and private individuals named in the material.

Police chief Themistos Arnaoutis previously said investigators found the claims were unsupported by witness testimony, forensic evidence and official records.

While the legal service concluded no offences had been committed by those accused in the allegations themselves, police confirmed the investigation had shifted towards possible offences arising from “the creation, publication and public dissemination” of the disputed material.

On Friday, Drousiotis published a copy of the indictment served to him and accused the legal service of prosecuting him to undermine his role in the separate Mafia State affair.

“This is a distraction for Videogate and a helping hand to Nikos Anastasiades,” he wrote on X.

He claimed the attorney-general, George Savvides and his deputy, Savvas Angelides, who had recused themselves from proceedings relating to Mafia State and whom he said were mentioned in both his publications and the disputed messages, had nevertheless approved the prosecution.

“I am a key witness in the case concerning the ‘Mafia State’. The Legal Service is neutralising me by naming me a defendant,” he wrote.

Drousiotis concluded that “in Nikos Christodoulides’ Cyprus, investigative journalism is dragged into criminal courts. Rule of Law in Tartarus.”

Drousiotis has consistently rejected the police findings and accused investigators of predetermining the outcome of the inquiry.

Responding after police announced their conclusions, he claimed the investigation had been influenced by former president Nicos Anastasiades, who has repeatedly denied allegations made in Drousiotis’ book Mafia State and has initiated legal proceedings against the journalist.

Drousiotis also disputed the conclusion that the electronic messages had been fabricated by a single individual, questioning how such detailed communications could have been created without specialised knowledge.

The Sandy investigation has remained separate from the anti-corruption authority’s inquiry into allegations contained in Mafia State.

Authority chairman Harris Poyadjis has previously stressed that developments in the Sandy case would “in no case” affect the authority’s examination of the allegations contained in Drousiotis’ book.

The Cyprus Mail attempted to contact both Makarios Drousiotis and his legal team.