Savvides ‘satisfied’ with MPs’ efforts to limit own immunity

Attorney-general George Savvides on Wednesday said he is “satisfied” with efforts made by MPs with the aim of bringing about a bill which will limit their own parliamentary immunity to prosecution.

He said after the day’s House legal affairs committee session that the bill which had been discussed on the matter is “an old bill which has been pending for years”, but said that he welcomes “the fact that the initiative came from the MPs themselves”, and that this fact is “particularly important”.

The discussion, he said, had been a “very good exchange of views”.

He went on to say that committee chairman and Disy MP Nikos Tornaritis had “pointed out that for certain offences which are not related to the execution of a member’s duties, there should be different treatment”.

In those cases, he said, Tornaritis had suggested that it should not require a court decision to lift an MP’s immunity.

He added that this position had been shared by Akel MP Aristos Damianou and Diko MP Christiana Erotokritou, among other members.

As such, he said, it was decided that a study should be conducted “to examine what the case is in other countries” and to “find a mechanism which will separate the offences for which there should be absolute immunity” from the others.

He said that this will help “avoid the risk of interference in parliamentary work”.

Since Cyprus gained its independence in 1960, just four MPs have had their immunity lifted, with former Disy MP Andreas Themistocleous the most recent of the four.

He found himself in legal trouble in 2016 after repeatedly speeding, and after having his immunity lifted, was arrested, charged, and found guilty. He was handed a fine and had his driving licence suspended for six months.

The previous year, in 2016, the Supreme Court lifted the immunity of then Edek MP Fidias Sarikas to allow authorities to investigate allegations against him relating to bribery, corruption and abuse of power during a prior stint as Paphos mayor.

He was found guilty by the Paphos criminal court and sentenced to four years in prison.

Prior to that, it had been more than three decades since the previous lifting of an MP’s immunity, with Giorgos Georgiou of Disy having his immunity lifted in 1984 as part of a case involving forgery. He was tried, found guilty, and jailed.

The first MP to have his immunity lifted was Lefkios Rodsthenous, who belonged to Glafcos Clerides’ conservative Patriotic Front party, in 1961. He was charged, found guilty, and sentenced to a year in prison for the crime of extortion.