Niki Laou - Strasbourg
The European Parliament turns its attention to Cyprus this week, with an emergency resolution on the detention of five Greek Cypriots by Turkish Cypriot authorities set to be debated in Strasbourg.
The five were arrested on 19 July while visiting their properties in the north and accused of “illegal entry”, among other charges. They remain in custody nearly two months later, with reports citing health concerns in some cases.
On Wednesday, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) will hold urgent debates on human rights and the rule of law, with votes scheduled for Thursday. The Cypriot case has been included on the agenda alongside other international crises, following agreement across the Parliament’s political groups that pressure must be brought to bear on Turkey.
Resolution with sharp wording
DISY MEPs Loukas Fourlas and Michalis Hadjipantela, both members of the European People’s Party (EPP), pushed for the resolution, which they say sends a clear signal to Ankara.
The vote is expected to condemn the detention as politically motivated, denounce the lack of proper medical care, and demand both the unconditional end of the prosecutions and the immediate release of the five. “Turkey bears full responsibility, and this case stands as an obstacle in its relations with the EU,” the Cypriot MEPs said, calling for cross-party backing.
The European Parliament’s debates this week also come as voices within the Turkish Cypriot community highlight growing concern over democratic backsliding in the north. In a statement, the Turkish Cypriot secondary teachers’ union KTOEÖS described the five detained Greek Cypriots as “political prisoners,” alleging that their health problems are being ignored and that they are subjected to inhumane treatment in courts and prisons.
The union argued that the case reflects a broader erosion of freedoms under Ankara’s influence, warning that judicial independence and civil rights in the north are under threat. Its intervention adds a domestic dimension to what Cypriot MEPs and the European Parliament have framed as an urgent human rights issue requiring international pressure on Turkey.
Internal rumblings over detention of five
Meanwhile, in a development that further underlines the legal uncertainty surrounding the case, a “court of appeal” in the north on Monday overturned a July decision ordering the three-month pre-trial detention of two of the five Greek Cypriots.
The appeal, lodged against a ruling by the “district court” of Trikomo on 31 July, was upheld by a two-to-one majority of the three-member panel. The judges found that instead of remand, restrictive measures should have been imposed — including a bail of 100,000 Turkish lira, a ban on leaving the north, the surrender of travel documents, and mandatory weekly appearances at a “police station.”
One of the judges dissented, arguing that the original decision was correct but that detention should have been limited to one month rather than three.
Despite the appeal decision, the two men were not released.
The move to detain and charge the five Greek Cypriots has been met with concern among the Turkish Cypriot legal community, particularly after a lawyer for the five working on their property cases, Murat Metin Hakki, was recently arrested and later released in connection with the case. On his release, Hakki warned that the actions of the Turkish Cypriot authorities will only serve to undermine the perceived effectiveness of the Immoveable Property Commission in the north.
