President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades has appointed retired Lieutenant Andreas Pentaras as the new political chief of the Republic’s Central Intelligence Service.

The Central Intelligence Service is directly accountable to the President of the Republic concerning matters of State Security.

It deals with the collection, evaluation and utilization of intelligence that relates to the Security of the State. Administratively, it is accountable to the Assistant Chief of Police for Support.

According to an official press release, the appointment of Mr Pentaras, who has a long experience in security issues, underlines the determination of the government of President Nicos Anastasiades to have an Intelligence Service that would be dealing solely with issues aiming to protect the national security, by protecting at the same time the individual rights of the citizens