trust judiciary — trust judiciary — The allegations brought against assistant police chief Michalis Katsounotos by former central prisons director Anna Aristotelous are said to undermine public trust in the judiciary, according to his lawyer Modestos Poyiadjis.
- Government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis has refrained from making further comments, stating that all actions regarding Aristotelous’ case will adhere to legal procedures.
Poyiadjis stated on Tuesday that the claims were unfounded and described the statements made by Aristotelous’ lawyer, Christos Triantafyllides, as “full of inaccuracies and arbitrary conclusions.” He accused Triantafyllides and Aristotelous of engaging in a smear campaign aimed at diverting attention from the core issues of the accusations.
“The very serious accusations expressed over the police, the attorney general and other institutional bodies do not harm Mr. Katsounotos but the institutional order itself,” Poyiadjis remarked. He emphasised that the matter should be resolved in court without external influence and insisted that the ongoing case should not be sensationalised.
On the other hand, Triantafyllides has been vocal about the treatment of his clients, Anna Aristotelous and Athena Demetriou. He submitted a detailed statement regarding the case at the Nicosia district court on Monday, labelling the accusations against Aristotelous as part of a series of shameful attempts to target her. These accusations include a claim that Katsounotos asked a convict to provide him with a video of her, allegedly intending to destroy her credibility.
Triantafyllides reported that a criminal case has been registered against Aristotelous and other defendants, involving documents believed to have been removed illegally from the central prisons. He noted that eight defendants are included in this case, which involves both serving and former prison officers.
The case traces back to early April 2025 when police searched the home of a prison warden as part of a separate investigation into an alleged scam. During this search, investigators seized approximately 300,000 pages of documents labelled “confidential” and “secret,” which were reportedly removed between November and December 2022. At the time, Aristotelous was the governor of the central prisons.
In June 2025, the cabinet suspended Aristotelous from her role as acting permanent secretary at the defence ministry. Throughout the court proceedings, Triantafyllides has insisted that his client is being used as a “scapegoat” and has stated that he will appeal the decision.
Government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis has refrained from making further comments, stating that all actions regarding Aristotelous’ case will adhere to legal procedures.
