By Martin Hellicar
THE STATE may have paid for his return to Cyprus, but a Pontian deported on suspicion of petty theft is now threatening to sue the government for damages.
Georgios Politides’ case grabbed the headlines earlier this month, highlighting the police policy of deporting foreigners suspected of criminal activities, even in the absence of convicting evidence.
The Ombudswoman, Eleana Nicolaou, condemned Politides’ September 4 deportation as blatantly racist and the government was eventually forced to foot the bill for the Pontian to be reunited with his family in Paphos.
He returned to the island on Tuesday evening, and was yesterday back in his Paphos flat with his wife, Irini, and two children — three-and-a-half-year-old Christiana and five-year-old Yianna.
Politides spoke of his “bitterness” at being deported. His lawyer, Alexandros Alexandrou, said his client might well now seek compensation for the treatment he received.
Politides insisted he had nothing to do with the theft of a bottle of wine and two small bottles of coke that he was arrested for a few months back, and which led to his deportation.
Police never found enough evidence to take Politides to court for the petty theft. He was released without charge but re-arrested on August 12 and kept in Paphos police station holding cells until September 4, when he was deported.
The Pontian community in Paphos has been branded by some as a den of thieves and troublemakers, and Paphos Police chief Kyriacos Koniotis justified Politides’ deportation as a measure to deal with what he termed “the Pontian problem.”
The Ombudswoman noted that the Pontian was deported six days before his appeal against the deportation order was due to be heard by the Supreme Court.
Following the Ombudswoman’s damning report, the Interior Ministry reversed the deportation order and House president Spyros Kyprianou recommended that the state pay for Politides to return.
While condemning the Pontian’s deportation, Attorney-general Alecos Markides has said the authorities do not need a conviction to expel someone. “Presumption of innocence has nothing to do with the right of somebody to be in Cyprus or not,” the Attorney-general said.
“We are talking about people who are not citizens of the Republic, and the Republic is not bound to allow anybody to stay in its territory,” Markides said.
Police confirmed that foreigners implicated in a crime faced deportation even if there was insufficient evidence against them to press charges.
But police spokesman Glafcos Xenos insisted such expulsions were only carried out for reasons of “public interest” and with the approval of the Attorney-general.
“These reasons (of public interest) are not necessarily based on court decisions, but can be other evidence or information,” Xenos said.
Xenos indicated deportations in the absence of convictions were only carried out when police were sure that the foreigners concerned were up to no good.
