Police have revised their death investigation guidelines twice within three months, clarifying that criminal investigators hold ultimate authority over sudden and unnatural death cases, rather than forensic pathologists.
The police directive 3/25, titled “Death Investigations – Examination of Sudden/Unnatural Deaths”, underwent amendments in June and September 2024, explicitly stating that police investigators bear sole responsibility for determining causes of death whilst forensic experts provide supporting assistance.
“It is further understood that the investigation into the causes of death is the responsibility of the Police and not the forensic pathologist, who is called upon to provide support to the work of the Police,” the September amendment states.
The revisions follow public debate triggered by a January 2025 incident in which police killed a 24-year-old Pakistani national near Potamia in the buffer zone. His body was discovered hours later in central Nicosia, but investigators initially failed to identify the gunshot wound as the cause of death.
Forensic pathologist Nikolas Charalambous did not detect the entry wound during the initial autopsy on 6 January, with witnesses stating a stone obscured the cleaned wound which had no exit point. Charalambous identified the bullet during post-mortem examination four days later and immediately notified investigators.
Attorney General appointee Ninos Kekos, serving as independent criminal investigator, concluded no criminal or disciplinary liability arose against police officers or the pathologist based on the circumstances. However, the case prompted extensive discussion regarding investigative authority in potential homicide cases.
The September amendments transfer responsibility for coordinating with forensic pathologists from crime scene photographers to “investigators or senior officers”. Previously, photographers from the Criminal Investigation Department were tasked with briefing pathologists on scene conditions and determining whether their presence was required.
New protocols now mandate corpse X-rays “when there are multiple injuries or fractures or when death resulted from gunfire”. The directive also removed a provision stating that “in cases where death resulted from a fall from height, the forensic pathologist’s attendance at the scene may not be necessary”.
These specific points had been raised by those examining circumstances surrounding the death of Thanasis Nicolaou, according to the report.
Lawyer Demetris Apaisiotis, who previously served as an investigator with Nicosia’s Criminal Investigation Department, welcomed the changes. “The fact that before the amendment of this police directive, the photographer rather than the investigator was obliged to inform the forensic pathologist was incompatible,” Apaisiotis said.
“The investigator has the first word in cases of sudden death. If he will allocate tasks to other members of the Police, that is understandable, but he must make any notifications himself,” he added.
Apaisiotis praised the mandatory X-ray provision, stating: “We have entered a new century, that of technology, and it is regressive not to use it to investigate causes of death.”
Regarding the removal of the height-fall exemption, Apaisiotis said: “The purpose is to conduct a proper investigation from the outset and for the investigator to have all the help he can get from a forensic pathologist.”
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