Presidential Commissioner for Humanitarian Issues Fotis Fotiou, assured the family of 1974 hero Christofi Pashias, that the Republic of Cyprus, as a state governed by the rule of law, recognises, respects and will implement the decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
The ECHR ordered on Tuesday the Republic of Cyprus to pay around 60,000 euros for non-pecuniary damage to the applicants in the Vassiliou and Others v. Cyprus case. According to ECHR the case concerns the State’s responsibility for the applicants’ distress between the disappearance of a relative of them during the Turkish invasion in 1974 and his identification 26 years later.
According to an announcement by the office of the Presidential Commissioner, a meeting was held on Friday with the members of the family of the hero on the initiative of the Presidential Commissioner.
The Commissioner expressed to the family the gratitude of the Government, himself and the state in general, for the heroic struggle and the sacrifice of Christofi Pashias, who fell in the field of honour in the area of Ayios Pavlos in August 1974, defending universal principles and values, as well as the territorial integrity and dignity of Cyprus and its people.
Referring to the recent ruling of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Christofis Pashias, the Commissioner assured the family that the Republic of Cyprus, as a state governed by the rule of law, recognises, respects and will implement the decision of the ECHR, as the Government Spokesman recently stated.
The Commissioner stressed that it is commonly accepted that during the period of the Turkish invasion and in the years that followed, mistakes and omissions have been made, which unfortunately caused and continue to cause additional pain and misery to dozens of families of Cypriots but also to families in Greece, who still do not know the fate of their loved ones as well as their burial place
Concluding, Fotiou said that the Government will continue and intensify its efforts to alleviate the pain of families.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory.
Source: Cyprus News Agency