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Spokesman says ECHR rulings must be respected
NICOSIA,
"The decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) must be respected", government spokesman Michalis Papapetrou said on Wednesday, referring to a decision taken the same day, on the basis of which Cyprus has been found guilty for ill-treating Turkish Cypriot citizens and expelling them to the Turkish occupied areas.
According to an official statement by the spokesman, "the government respects this decision fully, undertakes its responsibilities completely, and will work in a systematic and effective way to safeguard that similar events and behaviors, which are in contrast with the civilization and the morality of the Cypriot people, will not be repeated".
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third.
Attorney General: Cyprus will comply fully with the European Court ruling which found the Republic guilty of human rights violations in a case brought by nine Turkish Cypriots against the Cypriot police, Attorney General Alecos Markides said on Wednesday, stressing that the government will move to take all necessary measures to try and limit to the minimum human rights violations.
Expressing regret about Wednesday's ruling, Markides pointed out the case concerned an isolated incident of ill treatment of Turkish Cypriots by the police, stressing also that the Court decision safeguards the right of free movement throughout Cyprus and notes that the Republic of Cyprus is the sole legitimate government of Cyprus.
He said this ruling is no obstacle to Cyprus' accession course to the European Union and has nothing to do with an earlier judgment by the same Court in the Fourth Interstate Application of Cyprus against Turkey, in which Ankara was found guilty of continuous gross human rights violations in Cyprus, as a result of the occupation by some 30.000 Turkish troops of the island's northern part, since Turkey invaded it in 1974.
"The Republic of Cyprus will fully respect the decision of the Court, will pay the damages to the full, and at the same time will introduce all the necessary steps to prevent a repetition of similar acts," Attorney General said at a press conference.
He said this "regretful" decision was due to the "totally unacceptable attitude of police officers" that were found guilty of ill-treating the Turkish Cypriot they detained.
"We have an obligation to instill in all government services the right principles, as these arise from our international obligations and the modern perception for respect of human rights, something that Law officers are already doing at the Police Academy," Markides said.
The European Court of Human Rights of the Council of Europe found Cyprus guilty of violating the right to liberty and security by way of unlawful detention and the right to freedom of movement because of the very close monitoring the applicants were subjected to by the Cyprus police. The Court also said the police subjected the Turkish Cypriots to ill treatment of varying degrees of severity but this did not qualify as torture, as the prosecution claimed.
The Court ordered the government of Cyprus to pay each applicant 20.000 Cyprus pounds for non pecuniary damage and to all the applicants 25.000 pounds for legal costs and expenses, less some 600 pounds received in advance in legal aid by the Council of Europe (one Cyprus pound is trading at about 1,5 US dollars). Replying to questions, the Attorney General said the government will reexamine the way the security forces behave, noting that any restriction of movement of citizens should be carried out on the basis of a legal framework.
He said next week President Glafcos Clerides would chair a meeting of competent authorities to look into this matter.
The Court rejected claims by the prosecution relating to violation of the
right to life and the right to property.
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