The family of Thanasis Nicolaou is preparing to launch private criminal prosecutions against individuals potentially implicated in his death or subsequent investigation failures.
This development comes as a response to the recently completed inquest by criminal investigators Pappas and Athanasiou, whose report has yet to be officially provided to the family.
The potential private prosecutions appear to be the most viable legal avenue for the family, given the Attorney General’s previous position on similar matters.
More than two years ago, following the Matsas-Alexopoulos report, the Attorney General declined to pursue criminal charges against four named individuals, citing the significant time elapsed and potential distress such proceedings would cause.
With 20 years having passed since Thanasis’s death, it remains unlikely that the Attorney General’s position would change substantially in this case.
However, the Attorney General previously indicated he would not intervene to halt any private prosecutions initiated in connection with the case.
“Private criminal cases would be filed in a District Court,” a legal source explained to philenews, “since only the Attorney General has the authority to file cases before the Criminal Court”.
The charges would likely be structured to fall within the District Court’s jurisdiction, which handles offences carrying penalties of up to five years imprisonment.
An alternative approach could mirror the procedure used in the Rikkos Erotokritou case, where the Attorney General filed charges in the Criminal Court but assigned the case management to a private lawyer.
Andriana Nicolaou, Thanasis’s mother, has expressed distrust in the Law Office, particularly regarding how its representative handled the inquest proceedings. In recent statements, she emphasised that “justice will be served only with the punishment of those responsible”.
“We will definitely proceed with private criminal prosecutions, even against individuals who may not be mentioned in the report,” Andriana Nicolaou stated.
“My son suffered bullying and was murdered because he witnessed drug use in the army. Those responsible cannot remain unpunished”.
She further noted that while the finding that her son’s death resulted from criminal activity rather than suicide provides “moral satisfaction,” she does not feel fully vindicated.
“I praise God that I managed to restore my son’s memory, which they tarnished with the stigma of suicide,” she added.
As of Thursday afternoon, the family had not yet received an official copy of the investigators’ findings.
The investigators were tasked with examining the circumstances of Nicolaou’s death and identifying any potential oversights or procedural failures during the initial investigation.
Thanasis’ body was found under a bridge in Alassa in 2005 and his death was deemed by the army and police as a suicide. But after his remains were exhumed in 2020 over suspicions of foul play, further autopsies showed he had been beaten and strangled.
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