Three criminal cases filed in the District Court of Nicosia against the Cypra slaughterhouse and its owner George Georgiou (see photo) involving compliance with court decrees for demolition of illegal structures, were suspended due to mistakes and omissions of an official of the District. An investigation followed with instructions from the former Attorney General, in order to finally adopt the position of the Nicosia District Administration that the mistakes of its employees were in good faith. However, they did not return with the criminal charges. What is recorded in the conclusion of the research committee is sufficiently revealing:
Criminal cases no. 5895/2010 and 17158/2014: On 5/3/2010 the criminal case 5895/2010 against Cypra and Georgios Georgiou was registered in the District Court of Nicosia. They were accused of possessing five cold rooms without a certificate of final approval. On 27/2/2013, upon admission, the court imposed a fine of € 200 on each of the accused and at the same time issued a decree for the demolition of the cold rooms. On 24/5/2013, a letter was sent by the Nicosia District Administration to Cypra and Mr. Georgiou, requesting that the cold rooms be demolished within three months, with a warning that judicial measures would be taken to disobey a decree. Because there was no compliance, on 7/8/2014 the District Administration of Nicosia registered the criminal case 17158/14 against Cypra and Mr. Georgiou in the District Court of Nicosia, with the accusation that they failed to comply with the decree of demolition . The case, after a hearing, was rejected by the court on 2/6/2017, as the demolition decree issued did not specify the time of its entry into force.
Criminal Cases 27761/2010 and 17159/2014: On 29/10/2010 the criminal case 27761/2010 against Cypra and Mr. Georgios Georgiou was registered in the District Court of Nicosia with the accusation of illegal construction of 22 prefabricated houses in the community without a building permit. Lower Monastery. After admitting the two defendants, the court issued on 15/5/2013 a demolition order of the buildings and imposed a fine of € 200 on each defendant. On 7/8/2014 the criminal case 17159/2014 against Cypra and Mr. Georgios Georgiou was registered in the District Court with the accusation that they failed to comply with the demolition decree of the 22 prefabricated houses where slaughterhouse employees lived. While the hearing of this case was pending, the District Administration of Nicosia found that in the initial case no. 27761/10, in the context of which the demolition decree was issued, the community of Kato Moni was determined as the place of commission of the offense instead of the community of Agioi Iliofotoi. Therefore, and following a suggestion of the Nicosia District Administration to the Attorney General, the case was suspended.
Criminal cases 37459/2010 and 16896/2015: On 23/12/2010 the criminal case 37459/2010 against Cypra and Mr. Georgios Georgiou was registered in the District Court of Nicosia as they started the construction of a pig tank in the village of Meniko without a building permit. On 2/5/2011, the court issued a decree suspending the works and on 15/5/2013, upon admission, a decree was issued for the demolition of the said tank. In addition, the court imposed a fine of € 200 on each defendant. On 10/12/2015, the criminal case 16896/2015 against Cypra and Mr. Georgios Georgiou was registered in the District Court of Nicosia for non-compliance with the court decree for the demolition of a pig tank. Due to the decision of the court in the criminal case 17158/2014, where the issued demolition decree was judged as unclear, the Nicosia District Administration ruled that the demolition decree issued under no. 37459/2010 of the case suffered for the same reasons, and therefore the case was suspended following a relevant suggestion of the Nicosia District Administration to the Attorney General.
Criminal case no. 16894/2015: On 10/12/2015, the Nicosia District Court registered the criminal case 16894/2015 against Cypra and its directors, who were accused of possessing an earthen waste tank without a certificate of approval. The indictment was deemed to have suffered, as it was incorrectly stated that all the plots in which the tank was built were located within the community of Agioi Iliofoti, while they are delimited within the administrative boundaries of the communities of Agioi Iliofota and Menoikou. Furthermore, the indictment did not include the persons who owned, under a lease, the Turkish Cypriot-owned plots of land belonging to the indictment. Apart from the above, the indictment was not served on all the accused. Following a suggestion by the Nicosia District Administration to the Attorney General, the case was suspended.
Error research
Due to the fact that the suspension of the criminal prosecutions of the Cypra slaughterhouse and the owner Mr. George Georgiou was requested due to errors and omissions made by the prosecution, ie the Nicosia District Administration, the former Attorney General wrote a letter on 2/11 / 2017 to the Director General of the Ministry of Interior to conduct an investigation on how to handle these cases. On 25/1/2018, the District Administration of Nicosia sent to the Director General of the Ministry of Interior a draft reply letter to the Attorney General, which was also a report of facts, which concludes that “the investigation did not reveal any responsibilities, as it was about good faith mistakes “. Conclusion adopted by the Ministry of Interior.
Reprehensible attitude
In its conclusion, the investigative committee concludes with the following: but the overall attitude of the Nicosia District Administration is considered reprehensible. There was no compliance by Cypra and Mr. George Georgiou with the issued decrees of the criminal case 18823/2013, nor were judicial measures taken by the Nicosia District Administration to comply with these decrees. Until today, the configured facilities of Cypra operate without the required permits of the urban planning authority and the District Administration of Nicosia “.
Audit Office / CYPRA: The truth shone through
No responsibilities are attributed to the Accountant General from the conclusion of the Attorney General for the CYPRA slaughterhouse
Cypra Slaughterhouse Case: General Accountant Rea Georgiou is being disciplined
