If it was you or I we would still in jail.
But, double standards: -
PRESIDENT Demetris Christofias is failing to keep his pre-election promise of a “fair and just society” by granting a presidential pardon to a Paphos lawyer recently sentenced to a month’s imprisonment for a string of traffic convictions, DISY MP Nicos Tornaritis said yesterday.
The lawyer had been caught speeding while serving a driving ban, which meant she had no valid licence or insurance cover. She was jailed for 30 days last week by a Paphos district court judge.
A few days later, she received a pardon from President Christofias under recommendation from Attorney-general Petros Clerides, who said he had taken into account “two important humanitarian reasons that were put to him”. These “humanitarian reasons” were not revealed and when asked what they were Clerides told the Cyprus Mail: “I do not have to give the reasons behind my decision.”
Yesterday, deputies across the political spectrum sought to distance themselves from any suggestion that lawyers were above the law: “The law has to be applied to all equally, but some always find a window of escape,” said Tornaritis. “The sure thing is that President Christofias does not give out the message of the just and fair society that he was promising before the presidential elections.”
Green Party leader and MP George Perdikis said he opposed pardons in principle. “Without knowing all the details, I am against granting any form of clemency because no one is above the law,” he said.
DIKO deputy Antigone Papadopoulou agreed that, “as a matter of principle, all people are equal before the law,” adding that, “if it is judged that someone should be granted clemency, the reasons behind this form of pardon should be known so it does not upset the citizens because they have a right to know.”
“I am sure that if the President granted his pardon it is for important reasons,” Papadopoulou, whose party is in coalition with Christofias, added.
DISY deputy Eleni Theocharous was also unwilling to criticise Christofias in this case: “I will not judge President Christofias’ decision for pardoning the young lawyer, but I would like to point out that some people in society such as lawyers, MPs and doctors have to be an example of upholding the law and of proper social behaviour.”
Her sentiments were echoed bu Evroko deputy Rikkos Erotokritou, himself a lawyer: “I do not personally know the circumstances under which the pardon was granted or the reasons as to why it was suggested, but if it was granted under no significant grounds it is unjustifiable and no one can be above the law. Everyone should be equal before the law and since no explanations were given, each citizen has the right to believe that because of her profession [as lawyer] that makes her more equal to the law.”
Justice in Cyprus today (depending on who you are or who you know?)
One rule for them and another rule for us
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One rule for them and another rule for us
by cyprusgeoff » Sat Aug 02, 2008 6:55 pm
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cyprusgeoff - Contributor
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by Oracle » Sat Aug 02, 2008 7:33 pm
The Law is an Ass .... Everywhere! 
Jill Dando murder: Miscarriages of justice
Barry George is not the first person to be wrongly convicted of murder and then have their conviction quashed.
By Caroline Gammell
Last Updated: 6:27PM BST 01 Aug 2008
Barry George leaves the Old Bailey in London after he was cleared of murdering Jill Dando.
Stephen Downing spent 27 years in prison for the murder of Wendy Sewell, a typist who was killed in a churchyard in Bakewell, Derbyshire, in 1973.
His conviction in the so-called "Bakewell Tart" case was hailed as one of Britain's worst miscarriages of justice when he was freed in January 2002.
Mr Downing received an initial £250,000 payment on release from prison and further £500,000 in 2006 because he was not told he was under arrest or that he had the right to a solicitor.
He was 17 with a mental age of 11 when he was convicted of beating 32-year-old Mrs Sewell to death with a pick-axe handle at a cemetery in Bakewell.
He was arrested and interviewed for about eight hours before admitting the attack. Later he retracted his confession but was convicted the following year.
Stefan Kiszko was convicted of killing 11-year-old Lesley Molseed in 1976 and served 16 years before being released in 1992.
The tax clerk, from Rochdale in Greater Manchester, was found guilty of abducting the girl and then stabbing her on a moor in West Yorkshire.
Mr Kiszko, who was described as "odd and vulnerable", spent nearly two decades in prison before the Court of Appeal acknowledged that his impotence meant he could not possibly have killed her.
He died of a heart attack aged 44 just a year after being released.
His mother Charlotte died four months later and because he had no other relatives, the Government did not have to pay him compensation of more than £500,000.
Ronald Castree was finally convicted in November 2007, having committed the crime as a 21-year-old.
Timothy Evans, 25, was hanged on March 9, 1950, for the murder of his wife and daughter.
Deemed to be of low intelligence, the Welsh van driver with an IQ of 70 apparently "confessed" to killing his wife Beryl and their 14-month-old daughter Geraldine in 1949.
Three years after his execution, former neighbour John Christie confessed to strangling eight victims - including Mrs Evans and Geraldine.
Mr Evans received a post-humous official royal pardon in 1966, but his case helped bring about the abolishment of capital punishment.
His family fought for compensation right up until 2004, arguing that the royal pardon was "inadequate remedy".
Unemployed Colin Stagg was tried for the murder of 23-year-old Rachel Nickell, who was killed while walking with her two-year-old son on Wimbledon Common in 1992.
He was charged with murder and spent a year in prison, but the judge presiding over the case threw out the charges against him because they were based on a honey trap operation.
Trial judge Mr Justice Ognall described it as "wholly reprehensible'' and "deceptive conduct of the grossest kind" and threw the evidence out.
Mr Stagg is still trying to claim more than £1 million compensation from the Metropolitan Police but the case is on hold while the police investigation continues.
Robert Napper, 41, has been charged with Miss Nickell's murder and appeared in court last November.
Jill Dando murder: Miscarriages of justice
Barry George is not the first person to be wrongly convicted of murder and then have their conviction quashed.
By Caroline Gammell
Last Updated: 6:27PM BST 01 Aug 2008
Barry George leaves the Old Bailey in London after he was cleared of murdering Jill Dando.
Stephen Downing spent 27 years in prison for the murder of Wendy Sewell, a typist who was killed in a churchyard in Bakewell, Derbyshire, in 1973.
His conviction in the so-called "Bakewell Tart" case was hailed as one of Britain's worst miscarriages of justice when he was freed in January 2002.
Mr Downing received an initial £250,000 payment on release from prison and further £500,000 in 2006 because he was not told he was under arrest or that he had the right to a solicitor.
He was 17 with a mental age of 11 when he was convicted of beating 32-year-old Mrs Sewell to death with a pick-axe handle at a cemetery in Bakewell.
He was arrested and interviewed for about eight hours before admitting the attack. Later he retracted his confession but was convicted the following year.
Stefan Kiszko was convicted of killing 11-year-old Lesley Molseed in 1976 and served 16 years before being released in 1992.
The tax clerk, from Rochdale in Greater Manchester, was found guilty of abducting the girl and then stabbing her on a moor in West Yorkshire.
Mr Kiszko, who was described as "odd and vulnerable", spent nearly two decades in prison before the Court of Appeal acknowledged that his impotence meant he could not possibly have killed her.
He died of a heart attack aged 44 just a year after being released.
His mother Charlotte died four months later and because he had no other relatives, the Government did not have to pay him compensation of more than £500,000.
Ronald Castree was finally convicted in November 2007, having committed the crime as a 21-year-old.
Timothy Evans, 25, was hanged on March 9, 1950, for the murder of his wife and daughter.
Deemed to be of low intelligence, the Welsh van driver with an IQ of 70 apparently "confessed" to killing his wife Beryl and their 14-month-old daughter Geraldine in 1949.
Three years after his execution, former neighbour John Christie confessed to strangling eight victims - including Mrs Evans and Geraldine.
Mr Evans received a post-humous official royal pardon in 1966, but his case helped bring about the abolishment of capital punishment.
His family fought for compensation right up until 2004, arguing that the royal pardon was "inadequate remedy".
Unemployed Colin Stagg was tried for the murder of 23-year-old Rachel Nickell, who was killed while walking with her two-year-old son on Wimbledon Common in 1992.
He was charged with murder and spent a year in prison, but the judge presiding over the case threw out the charges against him because they were based on a honey trap operation.
Trial judge Mr Justice Ognall described it as "wholly reprehensible'' and "deceptive conduct of the grossest kind" and threw the evidence out.
Mr Stagg is still trying to claim more than £1 million compensation from the Metropolitan Police but the case is on hold while the police investigation continues.
Robert Napper, 41, has been charged with Miss Nickell's murder and appeared in court last November.
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Oracle - Leading Contributor
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by cyprusgeoff » Sat Aug 02, 2008 7:48 pm
Yes, point taken, but I'm not talking about people killing. I just thought that this is Cyprus in the 21st century and motoring offences and the
punishment for breaking the law should apply to all citizens.
The fact that this woman is a lawyer should make no difference in the eyes of the courts or the president and is a shameful case of who you know not what you know.
The next person sent to jail for the same offence can now expect the same treatment?
I don't think so.
Disgusting
punishment for breaking the law should apply to all citizens.
The fact that this woman is a lawyer should make no difference in the eyes of the courts or the president and is a shameful case of who you know not what you know.
The next person sent to jail for the same offence can now expect the same treatment?
I don't think so.
Disgusting
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cyprusgeoff - Contributor
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by cyprusgeoff » Sat Aug 02, 2008 8:45 pm
CHARLIE CHARALAMBOUS
Writes in the Cyprus Weekly: -
I found it quite heartening that the President saw fit – based on legal advice – that a Paphos lawyer jailed for 30 days on serious traffic charges should be given a pardon.
What's that old adage? "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime." The woman was convicted for driving while serving a previous ban and driving without valid insurance.
She received the same type of jail term that anyone else in her position would expect to serve. But in a country where justice is blind, her fellow colleagues rallied round to request that her prison term be cut short, as her lesson had been swiftly learnt (lawyers are very clever).
The lawyer was allowed out of prison several days short of her sentence based on the argument that she also faced disciplinary punishment from the Bar Association with the likelihood her licence to defend criminals would be withdrawn for a certain period. If those appointed to uphold the law, and see justice done, start pleading special circumstances because the offender is a lawyer then we might as well tell the judges to go fishing instead.
Solidarity among lawyers is one thing; perceived preferential treatment because of a person's standing in society is a very dangerous concept.
There are most probably miscarriages of justice that the system has ignored because the people involved are no marks.
A lawyer gets put away and the entire legal community goes into overdrive. Punishing offenders purely for the sake of it is not the best remedy to rehabilitate society's rejects.
But picking and choosing who should and should not feel the full weight of the law - based on social standing - is a travesty. It makes a complete nonsense of the justice system.
In any 'normal' country there would be a huge outcry at the unfairness of this case and a modicum of sensitivity towards public opinion. Unfortunately, on planet Cyprus everyone is unequal before the law.
Mr and Mrs No-Money get royally shafted by the system while those who inhabit the upper strata of this backwater are relative untouchables. Here's a thought.
If the person committing the same crime as our lawyer was a black immigrant worker would the Attorney General have advised the President to grant a pardon in this case? I think you know the answer.
Writes in the Cyprus Weekly: -
I found it quite heartening that the President saw fit – based on legal advice – that a Paphos lawyer jailed for 30 days on serious traffic charges should be given a pardon.
What's that old adage? "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime." The woman was convicted for driving while serving a previous ban and driving without valid insurance.
She received the same type of jail term that anyone else in her position would expect to serve. But in a country where justice is blind, her fellow colleagues rallied round to request that her prison term be cut short, as her lesson had been swiftly learnt (lawyers are very clever).
The lawyer was allowed out of prison several days short of her sentence based on the argument that she also faced disciplinary punishment from the Bar Association with the likelihood her licence to defend criminals would be withdrawn for a certain period. If those appointed to uphold the law, and see justice done, start pleading special circumstances because the offender is a lawyer then we might as well tell the judges to go fishing instead.
Solidarity among lawyers is one thing; perceived preferential treatment because of a person's standing in society is a very dangerous concept.
There are most probably miscarriages of justice that the system has ignored because the people involved are no marks.
A lawyer gets put away and the entire legal community goes into overdrive. Punishing offenders purely for the sake of it is not the best remedy to rehabilitate society's rejects.
But picking and choosing who should and should not feel the full weight of the law - based on social standing - is a travesty. It makes a complete nonsense of the justice system.
In any 'normal' country there would be a huge outcry at the unfairness of this case and a modicum of sensitivity towards public opinion. Unfortunately, on planet Cyprus everyone is unequal before the law.
Mr and Mrs No-Money get royally shafted by the system while those who inhabit the upper strata of this backwater are relative untouchables. Here's a thought.
If the person committing the same crime as our lawyer was a black immigrant worker would the Attorney General have advised the President to grant a pardon in this case? I think you know the answer.
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cyprusgeoff - Contributor
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by pantheman » Sat Aug 02, 2008 11:32 pm
Sotos wrote:Nowhere it is said that she got the pardon because she is a lawyer. They said about two "humanitarian reasons". If they are good reasons or not I don't know.
Agreed, but they should make the reasons public.
this is a public case and there is no need to hide anything. Transparancy is the best policy in this case as the presint leaves himself open to criticism like now.
He has been poorly advised IMHO.
My persoanl thoughts on the matter are, it is a dissgrace that this person should have been pardoned full stop. Personally I think she should be serverly reprimanded (I was going to say struck off) but in reconsidering the crime was not of a serious nature.
How can we set an example to the international community that Cyprus has a good judicial system when something like this happens.
As for the attorney-Generals Clerides comments ".... I don't have to explain ...." well, yes you F do, I and everyone else pays your and the Presidents wages, you work for us and not vice-versa.
it is a disgrace.
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by Feisty » Sun Aug 03, 2008 9:44 am
In my opinion, if there were overwhelming humanitarian reasons for releasing her from prison then so be it, but to pardon her for offences she has clearly committed can in no way be condoned.
It's hard to believe these 'humanitarian reasons' were health because it's clear she has the healthy capacity to do a job as a lawyer and to go around with total disregard for the law or for the lives of others while she continually drives whilst unfit through drink and at excess speed. It is not as though this was a one off abberation which, let's face it, any of us could probably be guilty of at some time but continued flouting of the motoring laws. I believe that she should be struck off because she clearly has no respect for the law whatsoever.
It's hard to believe these 'humanitarian reasons' were health because it's clear she has the healthy capacity to do a job as a lawyer and to go around with total disregard for the law or for the lives of others while she continually drives whilst unfit through drink and at excess speed. It is not as though this was a one off abberation which, let's face it, any of us could probably be guilty of at some time but continued flouting of the motoring laws. I believe that she should be struck off because she clearly has no respect for the law whatsoever.
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by Shipwreck » Tue Aug 05, 2008 9:38 am
This lady lawyer is still driving around Paphos as of yesterday, surely she is still banned from driving and thus has no insurance etc!!!??
I guess if any of us ordinary folks get stopped by the police we can claim to be a lawyer and just drive off, I wonder if the police officer would have the courage to chase and stop knowing that when it got to court he would be personally under the spotlight??
I guess if any of us ordinary folks get stopped by the police we can claim to be a lawyer and just drive off, I wonder if the police officer would have the courage to chase and stop knowing that when it got to court he would be personally under the spotlight??
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by Oracle » Tue Aug 05, 2008 10:13 am
kafenes wrote:She has already been mentioned in this forum earlier.
http://www.cyprus-forum.com/cyprus14350.html
Aaaahhh ..... the good old days
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Oracle - Leading Contributor
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