Nicosia: The Cyprus Bar Association will denounce the arbitrary “arrest” of five Greek Cypriots in the Turkish occupied territories of Cyprus, to the European Union and every competent international organisation, it says in a press release, on Thursday.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the Association condemns “in the strongest manner the illegal and arbitrary arrest of five Greek Cypriots by the occupation regime, which was carried out with ulterior motives and with the clear aim of intimidation”. It adds that the baseless charges against them are seen as an attempt to criminalise their presence and the assertion of their rights, violating fundamental concepts of justice and legality.
The Cyprus Bar Association recalls that the “police” and the “courts” in the Turkish occupied territories lack legitimacy and operate illegally, in violation of international law. Therefore, it asserts that their actions have no legal force, serving only to terrorise and violate fundamental rights.
The Association states that this action constitutes a violation of human rights, including the right to free movement, the right to property, and the dignity of these individuals, who have already experienced uprooting and loss of their ancestral homes. The use of fabricated charges and deprivation of freedom are described as tools of political pressure contrary to international conventions.
The Cyprus Bar Association emphasizes that this issue will be brought to the attention of the European Union and other competent international organisations to prevent the continuation of these illegal practices. They stress that this act cannot go unnoticed, describing it as part of a systematic policy of intimidation aimed at suppressing the memory and legitimate rights of refugees.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, following Turkey’s invasion and occupation of its northern third. An illegal breakaway entity declared independence unilaterally on November 15, 1983, in the areas under Turkish occupation, an action condemned by the UN Security Council and the international community as legally null and void.