PACE rep calls for investigation into Cyprus over property arrests

Turkish Cypriot representative at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Oguzhan Hasipoglu on Sunday called for an investigation to be launched after the Republic of Cyprus made a series of arrests over the sale of Greek Cypriot owned property in the north.

Speaking at a PACE law and human rights committee meeting in Albania, he said the arrests contradict decisions taken by the Immovable Property Commission (IPC), which is accepted as a means of resolving property disputes by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

For this reason, he said, both the PACE and the ECHR should “immediately initiate an investigation” against the Republic.

He added that he would initiate proceedings for such an investigation to be carried out through the PACE law and human rights committee, before also calling out Greek Cypriot lawyer Achilleas Demtriades and MP Kostis Efstathiou.

He criticised the pair for making speeches at the committee about the “effective and timely implementation of ECHR decisions” while the Republic’s government arrests people over disputes which he says could have been solved through the IPC, though neither Demetriades nor Efstathiou are members of the government.

“It is a great contradiction and an act of recklessness that the Greek Cypriot administration in southern Cyprus and the lawyer who has [facilitated] many applications to the IPC on the one hand come here and speak about how ECHR decisions can be implemented, and on the other try to block IPC decisions,” he said.

He added, “while the ECHR adopts domestic law through the IPC regarding the property issue in Cyprus, the Greek Cypriot administration which the Council of Europe accepts as a member, must not allow measures to be taken to restrict people’s freedoms with the claim of disputed properties in the north.”

He also said the Greek Cypriot side is “expropriating Turkish Cypriot properties in the south without payment, renting them without permission.”

While Hasipoglu was making his speech demanding for an investigation to be launched, police at Larnaca airport arrested a 49-year-old woman suspected of “promoting property sales on Greek Cypriot land” in the north.

At the end of last month, German property promoter Martin Josef Rikels had been called in for questioning by the police, who then secured an arrest warrant against him.

Another recent high profile arrest involved Israeli businessman Simon Mistriel Aykut, who stands accused of developing €43 million worth of property on Greek Cypriot land near Trikomo and in the Kyrenia district. He will remain in custody until his case is heard in September.

Last month, Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar had said the Republic’s stance towards the IPC has “revealed its true intention of pressure and intimidation” and called on the Republic to “use common sense” in this regard.

“On the one hand, the Greek Cypriot leader [Nikos Christodoulides], makes statements aimed at impressing the international community, on the other hand continues to take steps to target our economy,” he said.

He pointed out that the IPC was recognised as an effective domestic legal mechanism by the European Court of Human Rights to evaluate claims to property in the north made by Greek Cypriots, and that it has been “working effectively” since 2005.

In addition, he said it is a “clear violation of international law” for the Republic to “bring the issue to its own courts in a way that targets individuals”.

As of June 3, Greek Cypriots had received a total of £25.4 million (€29.8m) from the IPC this year. Decisions have been made regarding a total of 45 claims, the largest of which was worth £11m (€12.9m). In addition, four other cases concerned payments of more than £1m (€1.2m).

The IPC has awarded more than £446.2m (€523.7m) in compensation since its creation in 2005. It examines claims for compensation, as well as for restitution – the handing back of Greek Cypriot-owned property in the north – and exchange of land.