Two stories unfolding almost parallel in time depict the callousness of authority towards the citizen.
One concerns the death of Thanasis Nikolaou, for which the authorities concluded it was suicide, while his relatives, led by his mother, attempt to prove it was not.
The other case involves the journalist Evdokia Loizou, diagnosed with viral encephalitis in 2007, who has been struggling for 17 years to prove that her health issues stem from the conditions at the CyBC (RIK) facilities where she worked (contaminated air, animals, birds, rodents, waste).
Despite many testimonies, mainly from the Labor Inspection Department of the Ministry of Labour, which is the most competent, advocating for the unsuitable conditions and their connection to Evdokia’s health issue, CyBC never accepted responsibility.
In the meantime, the institution had been fined by the court for the working conditions, yet it continued to deny the link between the acceptable conditions and the journalist’s health problem, forcing her to fight not only for her health but also to find justice.
Despite her vindication by the European Commission, where she appealed for the violation of her rights by the Republic of Cyprus, despite the testimonies of foreign experts, despite the court’s latest decision, which, after a long struggle, vindicates Eudokia and condemns CyBC to pay a fine of almost a million, CyBC doesn’t back down.
It will appeal the decision, continuing the battle with a person with serious health problems.
Does it do so because it is convinced that it is not responsible, or out of sheer stubbornness? Boards of directors come and go, legal advisors change (perhaps), but the stance remains steadfast.
“The poor conditions of our facilities are one thing, and a journalist’s illness is another.”
Even more stubborn is the determination in Thanasis Nikolaou’s case. What the representative of the Public Prosecutor’s Office utters to the witnesses on the other side during the trial, not only reveals determination but also fervour.
So much so that the judge is forced to intervene, drawing her attention.
“It’s not by the intensity of your voice that we will find the causes of Thanasis Nikolaou’s death,” she pointed out in one of her interventions.
In both cases, justice has been lost. Both cases have evolved into a showdown, into a sadistic game, with the aim not being justice but the emergence of a winner.
