Sihame Denguir enrolled her teenage son and daughter in France’s largest Muslim private school, Averroes, in Lille, which lost government funding due to not complying with secular principles.
The Auditor General has objected to the Attorney General’s request for his removal on grounds of misconduct, leading to a legal battle. The objection, submitted on the final day possible, disputes all points raised by the Attorney General. A hearing is scheduled for May 23, where the Council of the Supreme Constitutional Court will convene to hear the case. The dispute arose from the Attorney General’s refusal to press charges against a police officer who did not comply with questioning by the Independent Authority Against Corruption. The Auditor General’s legal team plans to raise two preliminary objections at the first hearing in May.
Fact: The formal objection filed by the lawyer for Auditor-General Odysseas Michaelides consists of 75 pages.
Pink Floyd’s drummer Nick Mason expressed his openness to a reunion gig with the band, but believes his feuding bandmates Roger Waters and David Gilmour do not share the same sentiment. The band last performed together in 2005 at a charity concert. Keyboardist Richard Wright and original frontman Syd Barrett have passed away. Mason has not discussed the possibility of a reunion with Waters or Gilmour. The feud between Waters and Gilmour has intensified over the years. Mason hinted at the possibility of doing shows with his own ensemble, similar to a surprise appearance by Waters in 2022. Mason believes there is not much interest in a Pink Floyd reunion.
A legal battle over the extradition of businessman Artur Petrov, who is accused by the US of supplying microelectronic components for Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, has been ongoing in Cyprus since last August. The Court of Appeal recently overturned a decision blocking his extradition, leading to a potential appeal to the Supreme Court. This case has political dimensions and international implications, with Russian news agency TASS closely following the developments.
Efforts have been made to reconcile the two sides in the Habakkuk Monastery scandal, but conditions are not yet conducive. The monks have sent messages to Metropolitan Isaiah of Tamasos to find a solution and withdraw mutual complaints to the police. The matter is now in the hands of the Holy Synod, and efforts are being made to find a compromise on the criminal issue. The final position of Metropolitan Isaiah will depend on the outcome of investigations into the origin of the €807,000.
Three judges of the Supreme Constitutional Court, including the current president, previously participated in a case involving the dismissal of a state official for inappropriate behavior. Two lawyers of the Auditor General also have experience in a similar case, as they represented the former Attorney General. The current Deputy Attorney General may be a witness in the process, as one of the issues raised concerns a complaint against him. Two large law firms will represent the Attorney General in the legal battle, one of which has ties to a former judge who prepared a report on the state official in the previous case.
The Attorney General of Cyprus has filed a petition to the Supreme Constitutional Court seeking the dismissal of Auditor General Odysseas Michaelides for inappropriate conduct. This legal battle will involve top legal professionals and is based on a regulatory provision from 2021. The case is unique as there is limited case law on requests for dismissal due to inappropriate behavior, with the only previous case involving former Deputy Attorney General Rikkos Erotocritou, who was criminally convicted. The Constitution does not clearly define what constitutes inappropriate behavior for the dismissal of officials at this level of constitutional protection. The Auditor General has 21 days to file an objection to the request for dismissal, and if the case reaches a hearing, old cases handled by the Legal Service will be brought up, with witnesses called to testify.