Government officials who classify documents without good reason are criminally liable, Lieutenant Colonel Alexis Hadjiprokopis, head of the National Security Authority, told the House Institutions Committee on Wednesday, though it emerged from the discussion that nobody has been prosecuted for doing so.
Parliament member Irene Charalambides, who put the issue before the committee, accused the government of classifying documents indiscriminately and abusively, at the expense of the public interest, transparency and accountability. None of the officials invited to the meeting disputed her opening remarks, and they acknowledged the problem directly or indirectly.
Hadjiprokopis said that under Regulatory Administrative Act 291/2025, a decree, “whenever someone commits this abuse, classifying without reason, they are criminally accountable”.
Under the ‘Security of Classified Information Decree of 2025’, no information may be classified, or remain classified, in order to conceal illegal activities or omissions, or to prevent anyone from being held responsible. Documents can be classified as secret, confidential or at another level in only eight cases, all of them related to national security.
A breach of the decree can trigger article 19(b) of the law, which carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison, a fine of 350,000 euros, or both.
Hadjiprokopis said any breach of the law would be investigated by the Cyprus Police, and that his authority was working to impose administrative fines on those who classify documents indiscriminately.
Dena Theodorou, a senior counsel of the Republic who represented the Attorney General at the meeting, said Charalambides was right that classification was being abused. “We see it too in documents that come from various services,” she said, referring to papers marked confidential, secret or top secret.
Such documents are harder to handle, she said, because they cannot be sent by email or in a single envelope and must be delivered by hand in a double envelope. She put the overuse down to officials not fully understanding the difference between classified information and personal data protection.
Prompted by committee chairman Demetris Demetriou, Theodorou called for thorough checks and a circular from parliament, the Attorney General or the Department of Public Administration and Personnel.
The circular should set out the classification levels, when they apply and the relevant articles of decree 291/2025, she said. It should also remind officials that they cannot classify documents without their superior’s approval, which must be given in writing.
The meeting also heard that a culture against unnecessary classification needs to take root among authorised officials.
