Mukhtar-in-exile furious over Aykut’s impending repatriation

Trikomo’s Greek Cypriot mukhtar-in-exile Iacovos Hadjivarnavas on Friday expressed fury at the planned transfer of Israeli prisoner Simon Aykut to the country of which he holds citizenship to serve out the remainder of his sentence

Aykut had been sentenced to five years in prison in October last year, having pled guilty to a total of 40 of the charges he faced related to the development and sale of Greek Cypriot property in the north, most of which was in the Trikomo area.

On Friday, Hadjivarnavas took to television channel Sigma to say that the decision to accept the proposition of sending Aykut to Israel is “unacceptable”.

“If there is some public reason which imposes this, they should tell us and we should probably know. If, at the same time, without telling us, they announced that they would release him, we do not know the reason behind it. What is hidden behind this? No one knows. This is unacceptable in our opinion,” he said.

He added that “it leaves the displaced persons, the owners of occupied land, exposed and negates the government’s initial decision to hunt this man down and imprison him”.

“This has sent dangerous messages to all would-be usurpers, right? Very dangerous messages, because one the one hand, it tells them they can come here, proceed unhindered with the predatory exploitation of the land in the occupied territories. Okay, we can hunt them down, but then we let them go,” he said.

He added that “at the same time, it tells the displaced persons that they cannot protect them and to bargain their properties away”.

Later, he pointed out that the government has in recent weeks promised to crack down on crime, asking “is there a greater crime than this?”

“A third party coming into your house, onto your property, exploiting it, and then hunting him down, taking him, putting him in prison, and then releasing him. What is the point in all this? They should come out and inform the public so that they can know,” he said.

He then warned that if Aykut is sent to Israel, the case would “reduce the credibility of the Republic of Cyprus as a state governed by law”, before stressing that the matter of property is “not just an asset” but “a national and institutional problem”.

To this end, he pointed out that six Greek Cypriots were arrested near Trikomo last summer and held in custody for months, with the final two being released in December, before returning to the matter of Aykut.

“We do not know what exactly is happening. What prompted the government to release Aykut? Because this move deprives the oppressed people who filed cases or those who were suggested to file cases of the right to claim their rights,” he said.

He added that Aykut “is a Turkish Jew” and that “Turkey sent him to do its job, to create a fait accompli in case of a solution to the Cyprus problem, so that we cannot return to our properties”.

To this end, he called on President Nikos Christodoulides and Health Minister Neophytos Charalambides to “speak and tell us the reason they did this”.

“If it is for humanitarian and health reasons, there are other humanitarian and health reasons to protect the displaced persons who are dying with the grief of deprivation and the loss of their properties. It is a shame, what is happening,” he said.

He then said that he intends to “take further measures” in case the government does not respond to his demands, adding that he may take the matter to the European Court of Justice.

“For 51 years, the government has been taking the Michael out of displaced persons,” he said.

Justice Minister Costas Fitiris had said on Monday that the Republic of Cyprus is “obliged” to send Aykut to Israel.

“Israel has requested the transfer of Simon Aykut to Israel to serve his sentence there. We have an obligation to abide by this agreement. We know that this issue is very special due to the usurpation of Greek Cypriot properties in the occupied territories,” he said.

Regarding the “obligation” to transfer Aykut to Israel, he said that “at some point, we have to respond, otherwise we will have consequences”.

Those consequences, he said, would not necessarily come about regarding Cyprus’ relations with the State of Israel, but instead “because we would not be respecting an agreement which exists”.

On the matter of Aykut’s sentence, he said that “due to his age, he can be released once half of his sentence has elapsed”.

“So, we are now talking about whether he will stay in prison for another six to eight months. So, I believe that we cannot risk the public interest for six months in prison. The important thing is that he has been convicted, and that the other state, Israel, has recognised that his conviction was for the usurpation of Greek Cypriot property,” he said.