Cyprus Commissioner Marios Hartsiotis Faces Potential Loss of Police Escort Amid Security Review

Presidential Commissioner Marios Hartsiotis may soon be stripped of the two police officers assigned to him, a move that could be reversed by Justice Minister Costas Fitiris. The assignment, formalised last week, was revealed by Daily Politis and signed by the deputy police chief, but it conflicts with Fitiris’s recent directive that police guards be allocated solely on security‑risk grounds. The Audit Office, acting on a complaint, found that Hartsiotis had irregularly seconded officers normally assigned to the presidential palace and had used a state limousine for personal travel. After the audit, Hartsiotis was required to restrict the limo to official duties. A broader review of police escorts for ministers, deputy ministers and commissioners is underway, with next week’s extension to ordinary citizens. The overhaul, launched in June following May’s parliamentary elections, shifts responsibility for risk assessment from the cabinet to the police, following an attorney‑general opinion that the police should decide on protection arrangements.