Former MEP Demetris Papadakis publicly declared on Wednesday that allegations linking him to disputed messages with a woman known as “Sandy” are unfounded, presenting the findings of an independent forensic examination of his mobile devices that he said uncovered no supporting evidence.
Papadakis told a press conference that on 31 March he appointed digital forensic examiner Alexis Mavros to independently examine all mobile devices he used between 2019 and 2026, in order to establish whether the communications made public by journalist Makarios Drousiotis had taken place. The report, submitted to police on Wednesday, found no evidence — not even circumstantial — that the alleged exchanges occurred, he said.
Mavros confirmed that the examination covered all relevant devices, cloud accounts, backups, and deleted data, and that keyword searches, phone numbers, and timestamp analysis were also carried out.
Papadakis called on police to secure the electronic data and devices of others he said are connected to the case, so that “the truth can emerge immediately.”
The findings came after ALMA’s Executive Secretariat voted on Monday night to withdraw Papadakis’s candidacy from the party’s Limassol ballot. Papadakis said he had kept the movement informed from the outset but that it chose to distance itself and ultimately pull his candidacy without waiting for the forensic report. “The lack of trust in me, and the lack of support in my effort to let the truth emerge, inevitably led to a political divorce,” he said.
ALMA candidate Nikos Stylianidis announced his withdrawal from the party’s Limassol ballot in solidarity with Papadakis, publishing a lengthy social media post alongside a photograph of the two men. He described the Executive Secretariat’s decision as “hasty and unjust.”
It was hasty, he said, because Papadakis had been due to submit the forensic report to police on Tuesday — the day after the decision was taken. He said it was also unjust because, while ALMA had stated it respected the presumption of innocence and was treating the matter as political rather than legal, it had overlooked the ethical dimension.
“My political journey alongside Demetris Papadakis is built on principles and values that we both advocate and defend with passion and integrity,” Stylianidis wrote, adding that he had expressed his objections directly to ALMA leader Odysseas Michaelides and Limassol coordinator Nicoletta Tsikkini before announcing his withdrawal.
Despite speculation about further withdrawals, no additional departures had been confirmed by Wednesday. Within ALMA, unease was reported particularly among members who had joined from the Aichmi movement, following Papadakis after his expulsion from EDEK.
The view that the decision could have been delayed by a few days was said to be widely held, given that both the private forensic report and a Europol assessment — to which police have submitted evidence and from which a response may come within a week — were pending.
Separately, speculation was reported within party circles that the move against Papadakis may have been motivated by political interests, given the intense competition on the Nicosia ballot, where both ALMA leader Odysseas Michaelides and candidate Irene Charalambidou are also standing. The source presented this as unconfirmed speculation.
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