The Law Office of the Republic on Thursday announced its decision not to pursue a criminal case against a driver involved in a collision that killed Andreas Loizou in 2012 in Limassol.
However, it will bring criminal charges against one of the eight police investigators of the case for alleged “neglection of duty.”
This decision was outlined in a comprehensive statement released by the Office.
Among those implicated, is a member of the Police whose actions, or lack thereof, have led to criminal proceedings, the Office notes.
The statement stressed that this individual had a clear understanding of the necessary steps that should have been taken during the investigation but consciously chose to omit these actions.
This failure has significantly skewed the assessment of responsibility for the accident, diverting the investigation off course, it added.
The Law Office clarified that the decision to exempt the vehicle’s driver from prosecution, focusing instead on the investigating officer, was based on the officer’s professional capacity to guide the investigation’s trajectory.
As an experienced investigator, the officer should have been fully aware of the requisite procedures and actions, it said.
The Law Office acknowledged that during the critical period following the incident, all necessary measures to locate this driver were not adequately taken. While the criteria for initiating criminal proceedings against the driver were initially met, the Law Office pointed to the time passed since the incident as a significant factor in their decision not to prosecute them.
Even upon re-examination of the case, no new evidence emerged that could lead to identifying the driver in question, it said.
Case background
The collision occurred under the overhead bridge on the Limassol-Nicosia highway, on the main road towards Mouttagiaka during the early morning hours of September 2, 2012.
According to police, a car driven by an unidentified woman, in an attempt to overtake two motorcycles, entered the opposite lane, causing a vehicle driven by a 21-year-old to swerve.
To avoid the collision, the 21-year-old initially moved to the left and hit a motorcycle driven by Loizou, 17, who succumbed to his injuries a few days later.
The case resurfaced on social media in 2023, on the back of allegations saying that the incident was covered up because the unidentified woman who caused the 21-year-old to swerve and hit Loizou, is politically connected.
A statement issued on the Cyprus Police website the day after the accident said that the driver who pulled into the opposite lane on September 2, inadvertently causing Loizou’s death, was driving a light-coloured A3 or A4 Audi convertible. However, the next day, police issued a new statement saying that the car could have been of a different make.
Both statements are now missing from the police’s website.
The force has said that this is due to an update.
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