Roundup: Cypriot President indicates dismissal of Deputy Attorney General is imminent

Cypriot President has indicated that he remove the Deputy Attorney General from office after a Supreme Court Judicial Council found him guilty of conduct unbecoming and ordered his dismissal.

Government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides told the state Television on Thursday night that President Anastasiades, "as the guardian of all institutions, fully respects the Judicial Council's decision".

"Upon his return from abroad the President will take the measures called for by the decision," said Christodoulides.

Anastasiades is currently in New York to address the annual General Assembly of the United Nations.

Under the Constitution, an independent state officer, such as the Deputy Attorney General, can only be dismissed by the President after a decision by a Judicial Council made up of all 13 Supreme Court judges.

The Council's President, Myron Nicolatos, in delivering its judgment on the request of the Attorney General for the removal of his deputy, described Erotokritou's behavior as "unacceptable", "morally reprehensible" and "irresponsible".

Erotokritou had publicly accused the Attorney General Costas Clerides of receiving bribes for favors he made by exploiting his post.

However, he retracted the charges during the hearing and apologized to the Attorney General.

But even so, the Judicial Council said that his behavior "constitutes conduct unbecoming, grave enough to justify his removal."

The Judicial Council said that the ruling for the removal of the Deputy Attorney General "does not aim at his punishment but it meant to protect the institution of Deputy Attorney General and maintain the public's trust in it."

Erotokritou has said he will instruct his lawyers to appeal the decision to the European Court of Human Rights.

Usually, an appeal against a court's decision has the practical effect of putting its effect on hold until a decision on the appeal.

But the resonance of the case is such that legal experts say the President has to act without any delay in removing Erotokritou, whom he appointed when he became President early 2013.

This is the first time a state official will be removed from office since the Cyprus Republic became independent in 1960.

Erotokritou is facing a criminal court procedure in which he is accused of corruption and of misusing his position to influence the outcome of a civil court case between two Russian brothers and their half-sister over ownership of a 300 million euros inheritance left by their father.

But when asked if the Judicial Council's decision will have any impact on the criminal case, the Attorney General Costas Clerides said these are two quite different cases, despite the fact that the "conduct unbecoming" behavior was the direct result of Erotokritou's indictment in the inheritance case. Endit