MAVERICK MEP Marios Matsakis said yesterday he had no intention of reappearing at court in the north on charges of stealing a Turkish flag last year.
“I don’t recognise the courts in the north. No intention of going back,” he told the Cyprus Mail from Brussels.
After failing to reappear in court in the north on Thursday, as stipulated in an £18,000 bail bond he signed when he was released on Monday, the Turkish Cypriot court adjourned the hearing for January 20.
According to the Antatolia News Agency, Judge Omer Guran said that he had to adjourn the hearing as the status of Matsakis, as a member of the European Parliament, should be defined according to ‘TRNC’ laws.
The judge rejected the demand of the prosecutor, who asked for the detention of Matsakis, saying that the issue regarding the parliamentary immunity had not yet been resolved. The ‘Foreign Ministry’ in the north was assigned to come up with a recommendation on the status and immunity of the MEP.
Matsakis was arrested on New Year’s Eve, when he went to the Ledra Palace checkpoint bearing a cake and chocolates, which he claimed he wanted to present in a good will gesture to Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat. After refusing to show his identity card, he was told to wait, and a few minutes later was arrested by plainclothes officers.
He was arrested on an outstanding warrant relating to the theft of a Turkish flag at Louroujina several months ago. A military court in the north that charged him with entering a military area on Monday decided to accept his immunity and to adjourn the case until his mandate expired in 2009. However, Matsakis was then taken to a civilian court to answer charges of stealing the flag, but was released on the £18,000 bail guarantee that he would be liable for if he failed to appear on Thursday. Matsakis left for Brussels on Wednesday and was only due back last night.
Asked why he thought the Turkish Cypriot court had allowed him to go free on a bond without paying a penny in bail, given the political situation on the island, Matsakis said: “They just wanted to get rid of me. They didn’t know how to deal with me. It was a big problem for them and they messed it up.”
As for how the incident would affect any future plans to pull publicity stunts at the crossing points, Matsakis said he didn’t know. “Perhaps my immunity will be valid,” he said.
He said he was planning a trio to Turkey at the beginning of May as part of the Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee. This will be his second trip. “I went there last June and I had no problems but there was no arrest warrant at that time,” he said. “I am not worried because if they arrest me it will cause more problems for them.”
