Newsroom
Journalist and author Makarios Drousiotis has accused former President Nicos Anastasiades of being behind what he describes as a growing campaign of criminal investigations against him.
Drousiotis made the claim after appearing at Police Headquarters for questioning over an alleged breach of Cyprus Intelligence Service and personal-data laws connected to his book Mafia State.
“I was questioned about the intelligence service. I was ashamed,” he wrote in a post on X, claiming national security was being used as “a weapon against journalism.”
According to Drousiotis, investigators asked how he obtained information published in the book and who had seen the manuscript before it went to print.
He said he was also questioned about the roles played by the book’s editor and designer, as well as the covers used for its two editions.
But the question that appeared to shock him most was whether he had received permission from a competent authority to publish the books.
Drousiotis said he was left speechless. Although he had clearly invoked his right to remain silent, he said investigators twice asked him to explain why he was refusing to respond.
“I truly felt ashamed for my country,” he wrote.
Drousiotis claimed this may be the first time legislation governing the Cyprus Intelligence Service, known as KYP, has been used in a criminal investigation of a journalist. That claim has not been independently confirmed.
Three investigations in one month
The journalist said this was the third criminal investigation opened against him within a month and claimed that a fourth appeared to be on the way.
He directly blamed Anastasiades, saying he now had “no doubt” that the former president was behind his alleged persecution as revenge for Mafia State.
Drousiotis also accused the political establishment left behind by Anastasiades of protecting the former president and targeting those who expose alleged corruption.
No evidence was presented in the post linking Anastasiades personally to the decision to investigate him. There was also no immediate public response from the former president to Drousiotis’ latest allegations.
Anastasiades has repeatedly rejected the claims made in *Mafia State* and has accused Drousiotis of spreading falsehoods. He has also published his own detailed rebuttal and launched legal action against the journalist.
The story behind Mafia State
Published in 2022, Mafia State examines alleged links between political power, business interests and state institutions during the Anastasiades administration.
Drousiotis, who previously worked as an adviser to Anastasiades, provided material from the book to Cyprus’ Independent Authority Against Corruption.
Following a two-year investigation, the authority said in June that it had identified possible cases of abuse of power involving the former president and referred its findings to the attorney-general. Those findings were based on a balance of probabilities and do not amount to criminal convictions. Anastasiades denies wrongdoing.
The latest investigation raises a question that goes beyond the long-running and increasingly bitter battle between the two men: Can a journalist be investigated under national-security legislation for publishing information in a book, and should any writer need official permission before going to print?
