With direct shots against the Attorney General’s Office, the Auditor General, Odysseas Michailides, reacted immediately after the submission of the request for his suspension to the Supreme Court by the lawyers of Savvides-Angelides, emphasising, among other things, that from today, witnesses, evidence, and documents will speak.
The Auditor General, in his statement, speaks of a dual front, as apart from the legal battle that will take place in the Supreme Constitutional Court, he must also face the intentions of the Government, for the alleged modernisation of the Audit Office.
His statement reads:
“On May 20, 2023, a journalistic website revealed an allegation that had been forwarded to our Service regarding the alleged abuse of power by the Deputy Attorney General regarding the suspension of criminal prosecutions under the criminal code. One of them concerned the action of the Deputy Attorney General to exempt from criminal prosecution a former client of his and a current client of his former law firm, where his wife still works. On the same day, RIK reported on the same issue and asked for our comments. We simply confirmed that we received the allegation and forwarded it to the Anti-Corruption Authority.
The next day, May 21, 2023, the Deputy Attorney General outlined the retaliations his Service intended to take after, as a form of threat, he referred to ‘deliberate targeting,’ ‘dangerous behaviour,’ and ‘arbitrariness and malice,’ which must be ‘put to an end.’
On May 23, 2023, the Attorney General accused the ‘most talkative’ Audit Service of mudslinging and even character assassination and announced that ‘it is a situation that must stop.’ If he does not prove the allegations, he said, ‘he must be ready to face the consequences.’ The same threats were reiterated by the Attorney General himself on September 7, 2023, referring to suspension, and very recently by the Deputy Attorney General in an interview with a newspaper.
The implementation of the retaliations has been underway for months and now enters its final phase with today’s submission of a request for my suspension from the position of Auditor General for alleged improper behaviour. The duo of the Legal Service believes that this is the way to retaliate against me, both for the fact that the Audit Service forwarded the specific allegations to the Authority, as well as other pending allegations, but also for other findings of our Service.
The unsubstantiated accusations that the heads of the Legal Service throw at me and the Audit Service on every occasion will finally be able to be answered before independent and unchallengeable judges, specifically before the Council.
One thing is certain. The process that started today will bring catharsis, and the opportunity will be given for the truth to emerge.
From today, witnesses, evidence, and documents will speak, and the final word will be with justice. It is my sincere belief that the evidence overwhelmingly favours me and that the conscience of society will prove correct. On my part, I will do everything legally possible for the case to reach its conclusion so that the truth may shine.
Simultaneously with the above attack, our Service will repel the Government’s plans for alleged modernization. As it turns out, we will have to face two fronts the Government and the Legal Service simultaneously. Fortunately, the Constitution, the law, and the truth are the strongest allies. That’s why I neither fear nor worry. After all, as Andreas Kalvos eloquently explained, ‘those who feel the heavy hand of fear, a yoke of slavery, let them fall. Freedom requires virtue and courage.'”
