Cyprus Association of Social Anthropologists Condemns Legal Threat to University Professor Over Public Commentary
The Cyprus Association of Social Anthropologists (CASA) has voiced strong support for Theodoros Rakopoulos, a University of Oslo professor, after he received a legal notice from Grigoris Dimitriadis, former chief of staff to Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Dimitriadis, who resigned in 2022 amid the Predator spyware scandal, demanded Rakopoulos retract and apologize for a social media post that critiqued Dimitriadis' interview conduct.
Rakopoulos, an expert in social anthropology and mafia phenomena, clarified that his post described Dimitriadis' conduct as "mafia-like tropes" rather than labeling him a mafioso. After Dimitriadis’ legal action, Rakopoulos responded with a legal notice accusing the lawsuit of being a SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) intended to silence academic freedom.
CASA emphasized that academic assessments grounded in research should not face legal intimidation and warned that such lawsuits set dangerous precedents for the academic community. Rakopoulos is backed by multiple anthropological associations, and CASA urged institutions to defend the right to free academic expression against efforts to suppress public critique.
No news yet
CYPRadar is a state-of-the-art, AI-powered Cyprus news aggregator that automatically crawls, filters, and translates local updates in real time. By continuously scanning a wide range of trusted Cypriot media outlets, blogs, and official RSS feeds, the platform identifies original stories and uses advanced language models to filter out duplicate coverage. The service then generates concise, objective summaries, ensuring that readers get a quick and clear understanding of every significant event without information overload.
The primary mission of CYPRadar is to provide comprehensive, multi-language coverage of Cyprus news to keep both residents and international visitors well-informed. The platform covers key events across all major cities and districts, including Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca, Paphos, and Famagusta. By offering all updates simultaneously in five languages — English, Russian, Greek, Ukrainian, and Turkish — CYPRadar bridges communication gaps and ensures that everyone has equal access to critical local information, from policy changes to community events.
Follow police reports, crime statistics, and justice updates in Cyprus. Read about local law enforcement operations, safety measures, judicial court cases, road safety controls, and community policing initiatives.