The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled in favor of two Syrian refugees against Cyprus, paving the way for refugees stranded in the buffer zone to pursue their asylum claims. This week, the court issued its decision in a case brought by the two refugees, who sought compensation from Cyprus for preventing them from applying for asylum.
Pro-migrant activists welcomed the ruling as a victory. Lawyers stated that the ruling will encourage asylum seekers stuck in the UN-controlled buffer zone to approach the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to compel Cyprus to examine their asylum claims.
According to prominent human rights lawyer Nicoletta Charalambidou, who represented the refugees in this case, Cyprus has enforced asylum policies that violate human rights over the past four years, including unlawful returns by land and sea. She stated, “This judgment has exposed these unlawful practices and set a precedent; it is a significant victory for human rights.”
According to the court’s ruling, Cyprus violated the European Convention on Human Rights and fundamental principles of refugee law by preventing Syrians intercepted at sea from disembarking and returning them to Lebanon without first assessing their asylum claims.
The court ruling noted that the two Syrian refugees, originally from Idlib, had already spent four years in a refugee camp after fleeing the Syrian civil war. The ruling stated, “The court could not overlook the fact that the refugees were stranded at sea for two days under the control of the Cypriot naval police and were not permitted to disembark to seek asylum.” The judges concluded that Cyprus’s removal of the asylum seekers from its territorial waters and their forced return to Lebanon constituted expulsion.
Cyprus detained the Syrian refugees for two days on the boat where they arrived in September 2020, refusing to allow them to disembark and returning them to Lebanon, an “unsafe third country.” The court deemed this treatment “degrading,” as the two men were subjected to severe distress due to inadequate food, water, and lack of access to hygiene facilities.
The internationally recognized Cypriot government in the south has not yet commented on the ruling. President Nikos Christodoulides stated that the government will review the court’s decision, adding, “As a country under occupation, we understand the meaning of being a refugee and the experience of being forced to flee one’s homeland.”
Cyprus, situated in the eastern part of the European Union, has been divided since 1974, when 200,000 Cypriots fled from the northern to the southern part of the island following a Turkish intervention aimed at preventing its unification with Greece. The northern region subsequently declared independence, a move that has only been recognized by Turkey.
As a result of this division, asylum seekers enter the island from the Turkish-controlled northern part before crossing into the southern region. The southern government claims it is unable to process asylum applications due to inadequate infrastructure, leading Cyprus to implement a strict asylum policy to manage the flow of refugees. According to a recent report by the Border Violence Monitoring Network, Cyprus has been conducting forced expulsions and deploying stringent border control technologies since 2022 in the buffer zone and along its maritime border. The report states that these new technologies “facilitate ongoing rights violations and increase the ease with which they are enforced.”
The Cypriot asylum policy has intensified the suffering of the sixty-five asylum seekers trapped in the buffer zone. The UNHCR reports that several individuals among them are battling cancer, and nine are unaccompanied minors. Emilia Strovolidou, a spokeswoman for the UN agency, stated that while the government is currently providing food, a long-term sustainable solution is urgently needed. She emphasized that discussions are ongoing with the government, highlighting that many individuals have been in limbo for months and are facing extremely challenging psychological conditions.
The Cypriot government rejects the description of its refusal to process asylum applications submitted in the crossing area as a violation of European law. Nicholas Yianides, Deputy Minister of Migration, stated, “Cyprus has decided that it will not accept flows across the Green Line, especially since we have succeeded in preventing the arrival of any migrants by sea.”
According to lawyer Charalambidou, 25 cases have been filed against Cyprus by asylum seekers alleging violations of international law and Cyprus’ failure to protect them.
