IMMIGRATION authorities have been slammed over the two-month detention of a Serbian man, pending his deportation.
Neboja Micovic, has been held in a detention centre in Limassol since August 27, leaving his wife and two daughters afraid for the family’s future.
The family arrived in Cyprus seven years ago from Yugoslavia, fleeing the war in their homeland.
In a twist of irony, Micovics’s two daughters, Elena, 13 and Sophia, 9, recently travelled to Belgrade to represent Cyprus at the European children’s gathering, ‘The Joy of Europe’ earlier this month.
Doros Polycarpou, President of KISA – Action for Equality, Support and Anti-Racism – yesterday told the Cyprus Mail that, “the authorities refused to renew Micovic’s visa, which is an increasingly common practise. The Interior Ministry is currently clamping down on migrants who have the possibility of gaining long-term residency in January next year, when a new directive comes into effect. This will enable people who have been living in Cyprus for more than five years to become eligible for long-term residency.”
“And what will happen to Micovic’s children?” he asked. “The authorities should take their needs into consideration. I believe that this case, and many others, violates children’s rights. By deporting Micovic, his wife and children will probably be forced to leave Cyprus in order to keep the family together.”
Polycarpou went on to say that, “Cyprus’ alien law stems from colonial times and is not harmonised with the rest of the EU. It gives immigration officers the power to issue arrest and deportation orders against people considered to be in Cyprus illegally.
“The ombudswoman has previously stated that a detention warrant is connected to a deportation order, therefore, if deportation cannot be proceeded with immediately, an individual must then be released. Another order must then be issued, but only when the authorities have the means to deport the individual. Detaining them for long periods of time is against their human rights.”
In concluding, the KISA President said that, “people who show that they want to live in Cyprus, work here and are law-abiding citizens should be shown more leniency. It’s really not in the interests of the country to send these people away and then grant visas to others. These people can contribute greatly to Cyprus and their treatment is unfair and absurd.”
A spokesman at the Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro said that, “we are currently waiting to get the full details of the case from the immigration department and we will then speak with the Consular Department to see what course of action we should take.
“Mr Micovic hasn’t contacted us so far, but I’m expecting a call from his representatives soon and we’ll do all we can to help him.”
The immigration services in Limassol did not return our calls, despite numerous attempts to contact them for comment.
