AG ORDERS CRIMINAL PROBE INTO MINISTER

Health Minister Dina Akkelidou was unbending under mounting pressure
yesterday, insisting she had no intention of quitting after
Attorney-general Solon Nikitas ordered a criminal investigation into
allegations of her meddling in the course of justice.

Nikitas yesterday asked the Chief of Police to launch a criminal
investigation to determine whether the minister committed a criminal
offence by writing directly to a judge with reference to a pending case.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with the President's wife yesterday,
Akkelidou said she would co-operate fully with the investigation, but stood
her ground on the question of resigning. She said there was no question of
her resignation either by her or on order of the President.

"I appreciate that nobody is above the law. I will testify to the
investigator and I hope after that the substance of the matter and my
motives will come out and the Attorney-general will be satisfied," she said.

Asked if she should have stepped down as a matter of principle, given the
investigation, she replied that the issue of principle was not relevant in
this case.

Reporters probed the minister on whether she or President Tassos
Papadopoulos had raised the issue of her resigning at all. She replied: "My
discussion with the President was of a completely different nature. All I
can say is that the President did not raise the issue or even consider my
resignation."

Asked whether she would resign if the investigator concluded that a
criminal offence had been committed, Akkelidou said the reporter was
jumping the gun since the procedure was not complete and, anyway, there was
no motive or intent behind her actions when she sent the letter.

Questioned again on her thoughts on resignation, she replied, "There is a
lot of talk about handing in one's resignation. The ministers' resignations
are at the disposal of the President at any moment. Sometimes resignation
is the easy way out."

Left-wing AKEL party member Akkelidou drew widespread criticism and
disbelief on Monday when a Larnaca District Court judge announced that the
minister had sent her a letter containing information on a suspect charged
with the import, possession and trafficking of drugs.

The letter gave a brief outline of the suspect's personal history and
included notes from a psychiatrist who wrote that a jail sentence would be
catastrophic for the suspect.

The letter provoked an outcry from opposition parties who called for her
resignation after such blatant meddling in the course of justice. The
minister pleaded ignorance to the legal blunder and refused to resign,
maintaining the letter was written in good faith as an informative text to
assist the court.

Reading the judge's announcement on September 13 and after having spoken
with the public prosecutor handling the case, Nikitas saw fit to ask for an
investigation to determine the criminality of her actions.

Meanwhile, yesterday's proposal by DISY deputy Ionas Nicolaou to discuss
the issue before the House Legal Committee caused a bit of a ruckus.
Deputies from the government coalition parties argued that the committee
had no competence to discuss the matter at hand. After a heated debate, the
deputies agreed to refer the matter to the House Standards and Values
Committee, which will meet next Monday.

European Democrats deputy Christodoulos Taramoundas described Nicolaou's
approach to the subject as unorthodox and beyond the rules of Parliament.