A Statement by the Minister of Justice and Public Order
 

Various items published throughout the week of 18- 25th of July, 2004, have brought to my attention the case of Mr. Petros Evdokas in relation to an article published on the internet concerning the American citizen and employee of the United Nations in Cyprus Mr. Ernyey. On this matter at hand, I have the following to state:

1. The right to freedom of expression is absolutely entrenched in Cyprus and the Government remains firmly dedicated to the fundamental principle of respect for this right.

2. No one has been persecuted in the recent years  for expressing opinions.
What is persecuted, is criminal act.
These, as general principles.

On the specific matter, after studying the article published by Mr. Petros Evdokas I have concluded that it neither constituted an illegal act, nor manifested an intention for an illegal act.

In practice, the possibility of a libel does not even constitute cause for an investigation.

And despite all this, the Police, having ascribed a greater attention to the aspect of a possible threat against the safety of a foreign citizen in our country, saw fit to respond to the request of the foreign Embassy in order to ascertain  if and to what degree there was any threat against the life of Mr. Ernyey or any other citizen of that country. Therefore, after engaging in the relevant investigation it came to the conclusion that such a threat did not exist and classified the case as outside the realm of police business.

It is a fact that this is a subtle case which on the one hand relates to the safety of foreign citizens but on the other it touches on the right to free expression.

I can not claim that one is important and the other less important.

But I consider that the right to freedom of expression is so sacred that any investigation into a complaint brought solely on the basis of articles or speeches must be avoided except if it is accompanied by other elements which are able to substantiate credible fears of a real threat.
 

Doros Theodorou
Minister of Justice and Public Order

26th of July, 2004