The final report from the Investigative Committee appointed to examine state handling of the TAKATA airbag recalls is expected by 12 July at the latest, according to Committee President Michalakis Christodoulou. The committee was set up in March by Attorney-General George Savvides following a series of deadly incidents linked to defective TAKATA airbags.
The committee held its final session on Monday, concluding with the testimony of Haris Evripidou, Director of the Traffic Department at Police Headquarters.
Speaking at the close of proceedings, Christodoulou apologised to the parents of the two victims, who were present at the hearing. “The State failed to provide them with safety,” he said. He added that if any responsibilities are identified, they will be assigned in accordance with the committee’s powers.
Missed warnings and limited accountability
During the session, Christodoulou questioned Evripidou about whether the Police had informed the Road Safety Council that the fatal crashes under investigation were caused by airbag explosions.
Evripidou replied that the Police report statistical summaries to the Council based on agenda topics, not specific details of individual crashes. There is no legislative obligation to provide case-by-case data, he added.
“For the three specific cases [2017, 2023, 2024], there was no mention of them by the Police or any other state service,” he confirmed.
Christodoulou pressed further: “Isn’t it a matter of simple logic and duty to inform the Road Safety Council when road fatalities are caused by defective vehicle parts?”
Evripidou explained that the Police had referred each case to the relevant department- the Electromechanical Services- for technical vehicle inspections. In 2017, a report was issued, but at the time there was no known global issue with TAKATA airbags.
However, Christodoulou noted that a police expert’s report for the 2017 crash specifically cited an airbag explosion as the cause of death. He also pointed out that the Electromechanical Services’ report- which had been shared with the Police- warned that hundreds of millions of vehicles worldwide were equipped with dangerous airbags.
Despite this, Evripidou maintained that the vehicle in the 2017 case had not been part of an official recall, and that the Police were not the appropriate body to escalate concerns over the scale of the issue.
When asked why the Road Safety Council was not warned regardless, Evripidou responded that the 2023 and 2024 cases had been submitted to the Legal Service, and clarifications were still pending.
Christodoulou challenged him again: “If your investigation had found that thousands of bombs were planted across the country, would you not escalate that to ensure public safety? These airbags are bombs.”
Evripidou replied, “It’s not exactly the same.” He argued that all relevant updates during investigations were communicated to the appropriate bodies.
Committee member Michalis Vorkas later asked whether the Police had ever discovered vehicles without airbags, or where airbags failed to deploy. Evripidou acknowledged that many cars lack airbags, and that there had indeed been such cases.
“The report will be damning” say victims’ families
At the end of the session, Committee President Christodoulou reiterated his commitment to transparency and again stated the report would be ready by mid-July. He offered a public apology to the families of the victims, saying: “The State failed to protect you.” He stressed again that if any responsibilities are identified, they will be clearly assigned.
Speaking to the press, Yiannos Giorgallis, father of Styliani Giorgalli, expressed hope that the report would properly evaluate all testimonies and identify those responsible. “We heard a lot- ‘I didn’t see’, ‘I didn’t know’, ‘I wasn’t informed’. To me, those are just cheap excuses.”
When asked whether he believed the report would lead to accountability, he said, “I’m almost 100% sure. The Committee seems to be doing its job thoroughly.”
Maria Loui, mother of Kyriakos Oxinos, said the committee process highlighted the irrationality of the system: “What we’ve lived through in these sessions is logic versus madness. The State doesn’t protect its citizens.”
She said she was stunned by the dismissive tone of senior officials: “What we heard from directors, ministry heads, ministers, and today from the Traffic Department chief, was essentially, ‘I know that I know nothing.’ It’s offensive.”
Loui highlighted the Electromechanical Services report, which she said should have triggered urgent preventative action. “Instead, I lost Kyriakos, I had to beg for someone to mention the word TAKATA on TV, to raise awareness. And 21 months later, Styliani dies too- and ministers claim they only heard about it in 2023.”
She thanked the committee, saying she believed the final report would indeed be “damning,” and expressed hope that the Legal Service would act decisively.
On the apology from Christodoulou, Loui was gracious but firm: “That apology should have come from other state officials. It won’t bring back Kyriakos or Styliani. It won’t fix anything.”
She concluded with a chilling warning: “Thousands of vehicles with these deadly TAKATA airbags are still on Cyprus roads. That terrifies me, because you never know when one of them might explode.”
Also read: Investigative Committee on Takata
