Eleven members of the Cypriot police force are being brought before the courts following citizens’ complaints over incidents of police misconduct. The prosecutions followed investigations by the Independent Authority for the Investigation of Allegations and Complaints Against the Police (AADIPA) and instructions from the Attorney General to file criminal cases in court.
The 11 officers are involved in five separate cases and face charges including degrading treatment, unlawful arrest, assault, and abuse of power. In several cases, according to the newspaper Phileleftheros, videos documenting the incidents are being used as evidence by criminal investigators.
One of the cases concerns an incident in Larnaca during Easter 2025, when five police officers allegedly assaulted and humiliated a citizen during his arrest outside a kiosk. In another case, two officers are accused of violently dragging a citizen inside the Germasogeia police station following an argument.
In Greece, 272 cases of police misconduct were recorded in 2025 (+53% compared to 2024) by the Greek Ombudsman, which has an oversight role.
In total, 355 complaints were filed in 2025 concerning violence, mistreatment, or abuse of power by police officers. Of these, 127 cases were considered serious enough to be investigated by criminal investigators, while other cases are also being examined for disciplinary responsibility. The remaining complaints were dismissed as unfounded, retaliatory, or outside the authority’s jurisdiction.
According to the police and AADIPA, the use of body cameras on police uniforms is expected to reduce both incidents of police abuse and unfounded complaints by citizens against officers.
At the same time, AADIPA says it is understaffed and is calling for the creation of a permanent body of criminal investigators, arguing that the current system of external collaborators makes oversight more difficult and increases the operational cost of investigations.
Sources: Phileleftheros, Greek Ombudsman
What is fyi.news?
