Justice minister uneasy over Twitter parody account saga
Justice Minister Emily Yiolitis said police acted “disproportionately” when looking into her complaint against a Twitter parody account, but later clarified it was not meant as a criticism.
In comments to state radio CyBC on Wednesday, the minister said she was saddened by the fact police raided a home and acted disproportionately to her complaint of an online tweet about her father which she found offensive.
Yiolitis came under fire for reporting the Twitter parody account of her which led to the police raid of a Larnaca woman’s home thought to be behind the tweets.
Public opinion voiced its disapproval of hunting down a parody account.
Yiolitis insisted that she was justified, as an ordinary citizen, in reporting the account to the police because it posted a photo of her father with degrading comments.
“The account was up and running for some time before that. I complained because they posted a photo of my father.
“I consider the family to be sacred and I will protect it. I had to protect my father, a man who was never in the public eye,” Yiolitis told CyBC radio on Wednesday.
She agreed that politicians should be tolerant, “but it is very different to see a photo of our father” arguing the account had crossed the moral line.
Although Yiolitis did not agree with the woman’s home being raided, she issued a statement after her interview saying it shouldn’t be construed as a criticism of the police.
She appeared to blame CyBC’s story “headline” for implying she blamed the police in any way.
The case emerged when police secured a search warrant for the home of the woman allegedly behind the parody account, confiscating several electronic devices as evidence.
Later the devices were returned to the woman, a teacher, as officers found no evidence implicating her to the parody account.
Supreme Court
The woman then filed an appeal to the Supreme Court to have the search warrant invalid, which she won and plans to file for compensation.
The case sparked a public outcry with legal experts accusing the minister of abusing her power while also questioning the police’s zeal and ease with which they secured a search warrant.
Observers have suggested the warrant should have never been granted by the court, as a search warrant is only issued for crimes that entail a prison sentence of more than five years.
A leaked document showed police were investigating forgery and personal data offences, but also a parody account on social media, following a complaint by Yiolitis.
Yiolitis was asked by reporters to comment on the case during an anticorruption press conference last month with President Nicos Anastasiades.
“Any questions on the matter are addressed to the government. I am the President and I have appointed Ms Yiolitis as the Justice Minister.
“I have trust in her and there is no question of assuming any responsibility,” intervened Anastasiades.
Justice Ministry press officer Rona Michaelidou told the Financial Mirror that what the minister was trying to say in her radio interview is that it may be time for the state to revise its response to such cases.
“By no means was the minister implying that the police is to blame, as it acted by the rules,” said Michaelidou.
There is a typical cycle behind empires’ rises and declines. In the beginning, there is peace, prosperity, and productive debt growth.
As the economy expands, a debt bubble is created and the gap between rich and poor widens.
When the debt bubble bursts this leads to an economic downturn, increased tension and reaction against the established political norms and structures, and finally debt and political restructuring.
The result is a new world order, and the cycle begins again.
The parallels with Greece and Cyprus are evident, as it is clear that we are now entering a new stage where the established political norms and structures are being challenged.
As the system is challenged, it will be interesting to see how the establishment will try to maintain its grip on power.
Maintaining power is typically done by having a younger generation of family members being the “front” (maintaining control via the linage), rebranding their image (merely changing the skin), taking control of media outlets (control information), or by stifling competition through litigation, blocking access to resources.
These attempts are futile as longevity only comes by thinking about what the future holds and preparing and acting accordingly, rather than by trying to maintain what you have for as long as you can by avoiding change (which by implication means that at some point you will fail).
As we navigate the new economic and political norms that are unfolding around us, it is essential also to consider the regulatory pressures that are forcing change on financial institutions, insurance companies.
The decoupling of delivery of commerce and services from the need to be physically present, the impact of our choices which is changing our immediate physical environment, and the declining demographics which will result in a deterioration of state-provided pensions and immigration pressures.
Corporations and families should take stock of their assets, set out how they believe that the future will unfold and how they see their role in it, and then assess their corporate governance, family, and ownership structures.
This task can only be achieved by involving key decisionmakers/owners to discuss goals, opportunities, challenges, concerns, and their vision for the company and the family.
This will dictate the design of succession planning, including timing, future ownership and management shares, roles, and responsibilities of family members.
Where there is change, there challenges but also opportunities.
Being open to accepting change as an opportunity option is what is challenging.
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