The Law Office faces mounting political pressure following a European Court of Human Rights ruling that condemned the republic’s handling of a rape case involving a politician, with opposition parties calling for senior prosecutors to resign.
The ECHR decision has prompted criticism of Attorney General Giorgos Savvides and Deputy Attorney General Savvas Angelides from AKEL, the Greens, Volt and Alma parties, who described the ruling as causing “irreparable damage” to Cyprus’s reputation.
AKEL stated that the majority of society feels “anything but trust” in the Attorney General’s office, whilst Volt declared that “minimal political integrity” requires the resignation of both Angelides, who is personally criticised in the court’s decision, and Savvides, who bears institutional responsibility.
The Greens noted that the ECHR issues decisions overturning Cypriot court rulings “almost every week,” highlighting negative performance statistics for Cyprus’s justice system in European records.
The case concerned N.T., a Cypriot national born in 1992, who reported to police in 2021 that she had been raped ten years earlier by a schoolfriend who later became a politician. The ECHR found that Deputy Attorney General Angelides suspended prosecution based on alleged inconsistencies in the victim’s statements and her admission that she had “liked” the accused and may have sent “wrong signals.”
The court ruled that Cyprus breached articles 3, 8 and 14 of the Convention and ordered compensation totalling €35,470. The politician was forced to withdraw his candidacy from the DISY ballot for parliamentary elections following the allegations.
Cyprus’s Gender Equality Commissioner Josie Christodoulou stated the recent ECHR decisions from 3 July 2025 and 27 February 2025, both concerning 2022 rape cases, “provide grounds for serious self-criticism.”
“Perceptions around how a woman rape victim ‘should’ be or behave, as well as questioning the credibility of victims, lead to gender-based discrimination and, as referenced in the 3 July 2025 decision, to lack of respect for victims’ dignity,” Christodoulou said.
The commissioner added that sexism and stereotypical gender perceptions have roots in historical power relations between men and women. “They lead to acts and behaviours harmful both at individual and social levels, fuel violence against women, violate human dignity and undermine justice, democracy and the rule of law,” she stated.
“The existence of these discriminations is not only socially unacceptable, but also contrary to the international obligations of the Republic of Cyprus concerning gender equality and the protection of women from any form of violence,” Christodoulou continued.
She emphasised that Cyprus must “act consistently on the basis of international legality and our national strategic objectives and ensure an environment of safety, equality and dignity for all.”
The commissioner noted that recent years have seen significant strengthening of Cyprus’s legal and institutional framework for preventing and addressing violence against women, adding that “with full utilisation of available tools and through partnerships, we must ensure effective protection of victims and establish the necessary culture of gender equality.”
“Gender-based violence is a violation of human rights. As such, it is not an individual matter for victims but concerns and affects the entire society,” Christodoulou concluded.
Alma highlighted institutional deficiencies in the Law Office’s operation, questioning whether President Christodoulides would take action as “guardian of the Constitution” against what it termed the institution’s continued degradation.
The ruling represents the second ECHR condemnation of Cyprus over rape case handling within months. In February 2025, the court found Cyprus violated the rights of a 19-year-old British woman who reported gang-rape by Israeli tourists in Ayia Napa in 2019. That case also cited “prejudicial gender stereotypes and victim-blaming attitudes” in the investigation.
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