Police turn away boatload of immigrants

POLICE intercepted a boat believed to be full of illegal immigrants south east of the island on Monday night, they said yesterday.

Coast guard vessels headed off the boat after it was spotted by helicopters. Police said seven men aged between 25 and 35 were on board. They were believed to be Iraqis.

“The patrol boats accompanies the boat to a safe distance away from Cyprus territorial waters,” a police spokesman said. Police said they did not know where the boat was headed.

After being stung on several occasions by boatloads of illegal immigrants landing on the island, the authorities have begun a strict interception policy in the past few months. The UNHCR has criticised the policy saying it could result in genuine asylum seekers being turned away.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.