First of all, it strains credibility that police officers who stumbled upon documents at a prison guard’s home would sit down and count them one by one, arriving at precisely 300,000. Had they reported finding ten, twenty, or fifty boxes of significant documents, this would have been more believable, though perhaps less striking.
Several mysteries remain unexplained.
If Anna Aristotelous wanted to retain certain documents for any reason—perhaps to protect herself—would she have emptied her entire office? Would she not have photocopied those she needed to avoid arousing suspicion? Did she learn nothing during eight years in prison? Even if she lacked time when she left on medical leave and never returned, would she not have entrusted someone to handle this? Would she have asked these trusted individuals to remove everything from the prison—from commemorative gifts to classified documents—leaving not a single file? What would her successor have thought upon finding the director’s office completely empty? It remains puzzling that her successors have not reported the missing archives to this day.
The documents found at the guard’s house were, according to police sources—typically sparing with information—highly significant. Classified and restricted. Yet for 2.5 years, no one noticed their absence from the shelves or storage areas where they should have been kept. They were discovered by chance when police searched the guard’s home for other reasons. The search concerned illegal sales of kiosk items on the black market by the guard in question. Instead of finding crisps, drinks, cigarettes, chocolate, cling film and other goods the guard was trading, police found classified documents. Three hundred thousand of them. Step by step, the investigation led police to Anna Aristotelous and Athena Demetriou. In other words, Aristotelous’s former employee kept a “ticking time bomb” at his home on her behalf, which eventually exploded, wounding everyone involved.
There may be no perfect crime. People who appear clever may not be as smart as they seem. However, given the history involving Michalis Katsounotos, now assistant chief of police, one cannot dismiss the claims made by Chris Triantafyllides, even though he speaks as lawyer for Anna Aristotelous and Athena Demetriou. If this version holds true, then no one can challenge the system—even those who wish to be part of it.
