Anti-Police-Corruption Bills Set for Parliament
Six anti-police-corruption bills are on their way to the House of Representatives, said Justice Minister Ionas Nicolaou after meeting with President Nicos Anastasiades.
The police are keen to keep corruption investigations within the force, so a new internal affairs department is a major part of the reform.
Tougher penalties for corruption are also included in the new laws, including dismissal and prosecution.
A lifting of privacy restrictions on telephones belonging to police is another measure. In addition, various state services involved in police work will be integrated so they can be more easily coordinated.
Once in the House of Representatives, the bills will be debated.
The Justice Minister called for a quick process so that police corruption can be fought more effectively.
State investigation
Who watches the watchers, is a question that still remains. An independent investigation is underway into what is suspected to be systemic corruption in the quadruple Ayia Napa murders earlier this summer. Detectives made phone calls to the hitmen involved, and even sent SMS text messages with information about police movements.
Attorney-General Costas Clerides appointed former Supreme Court judge Andreas Paschalides, and ex-police officers Panayiotis Pelagia and Agamemnon Demetriou to investigate allegations of police corruption in the contract killing of Fanos Kalopsidiotis in Ayia Napa on June 23rd.
Three other people died in the crossfire in the crowded restaurant; hitman Jan Vogli, and two off-duty police officers, whose two children narrowly escaped being shot by hiding under a table.
Kalopsidiotis escaped no less than two other attempted contract killings in the last four years.
Who is behind this blatant violence and why is it taking so long for police to find the masterminds?
It was an open secret that Kalopsidiotis was suspected of being heavily involved in drugs, betting and protection. Contract killers targeted him twice before he was murdered, once in June 2012 and once in March, 2016. How did these miraculous escapes happen?
Most people suspect a very deep level of police corruption.
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