Supreme Court of Cyprus annuls search warrant in case of intimate videos circulated among students

On Thursday, 4 September 2025, the Supreme Court of Cyprus granted a motion declaring invalid a search warrant of a minor’s residence. The decision concerned a case involving the circulation of intimate videos among school students and raised important issues of privacy protection and procedural safeguards.

The warrant had originally been issued by the district court at the request of the police, following a report from a school that a student allegedly kept sexual content videos of a classmate on his phone. During a meeting with the principal, the teenager admitted receiving six such videos from a peer and specified which recordings were stored on his device.

Two other students gave video testimonies confirming that these materials had been shared in an Instagram group. Police then requested a warrant to search the minor’s home. Since he lived with his grandfather, the warrant automatically extended to the house and all electronic devices in it.

However, police already had access to certain recordings and another person’s device, and the minor’s phone had been seized. No evidence was provided showing that additional relevant devices might be located in the house.

The minor’s lawyer, from the law firm of Giannis Polychronis, argued that the warrant lacked necessary details about the devices and their connection to the alleged offences, violating legal requirements. He also emphasized that the document did not grant the right to detain the minor.

Given the absence of sufficient grounds, the Supreme Court agreed with the defence and annulled the search warrant, declaring it invalid on key procedural grounds.