Asylum seekers take Cyprus to ECtHR over alleged pushbacks and abuse

A group of asylum seekers who had been trapped in the buffer zone since last year have taken their case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), accusing Cypriot authorities of pushbacks, obstructing access to asylum procedures, degrading treatment, violence, unlawful detention, and forcing them to live in miserable conditions.

The ECtHR has declared the case admissible and has communicated it to the government, issuing a set of questions to be answered by September 10. The deadline for a friendly settlement has already passed.

Deputy Migration Minister Nicholas Ioannides dismissed the allegations on Friday, stating that the migrants had received food and medical care, there had been no abuse or violence, and that the Republic would defend its position and protect its own people.

Ioannides said he the deputy ministry would study the case and prepare a legal strategy.

According to the court documents, the applicants entered the buffer zone between July and August 2024 from the north, informing authorities that they wished to seek asylum.

However, the applicants claim they were subjected to pushbacks and forced to remain in the buffer zone for up to four months before being transferred to reception centres, where they formally filed their asylum applications.

One of the applications has already been examined and rejected, and an appeal has been filed. The remaining applicants have been interviewed in relation to potential relocation to another EU country.

The ECtHR noted that the applicants had complained about the lack of adequate housing, food, and medical care while in the buffer zone. They also raised concerns about snakes in the area and being repeatedly sent back into the zone.

The applicants allege that the pushbacks involved violence and mistreatment: they were searched, photographed, detained in a dark room without food or water, and had their phones confiscated.

In one case, a family was separated for two months when a minor and a 77-year-old were taken to a reception centre, while the rest of the family remained in the buffer zone.

The ECtHR has sent questions to Republic of Cyprus, including whether the immigrants arriving through the buffer zone remained outside its responsibility, given that some applications were examined.

It also asks about the alleged pushbacks and living conditions and if they are considered inhuman and degrading treatment, and whether the deprivation of liberty was compatible human rights.

Commenting on the case, Ioannides said the core of the problem lies with people-smuggling routes from Turkey to Cyprus via the north and into the buffer zone.

“Our goal is to combat the phenomenon of illegal trafficking in human beings, which also violates the rights of the individuals involved, and to safeguard the interests of the Republic of Cyprus,” he said.

He categorically denied allegations of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment. He also rejected the claim of pushbacks, arguing that they cannot occur within a state’s own territory.

While acknowledging that NGOs have the right to operate, he warned that any “abusive behaviour” on their part would “not be tolerated”.

“Our goal is to safeguard the interests of the Republic of Cyprus. Alongside our international obligations, we also have a duty to protect the interests of our state and its people,” Ioannides added.

There are 29 other appeals pending before the administrative court of international protection by different individuals, regarding the failure of the authorities to provide direct access to asylum procedures.

Cyprus has already been convicted by the ECtHR for the pushback of Syrians at sea. The ruling was issued on October 8, 2024, and Cyprus is under observation.

The current cases were filed and are being handled by lawyer Nikoletta Charalambidou, who collaborates with KISA and the UNHCR.