KISA boss faces court over £573 in charity funds

THE PRESIDENT of Action for Equality, Support and Anti-Racism (KISA) will appear in court tomorrow on charges of receiving stolen goods.

According to KISA Press Officer Doros Michael, President Doros Polycarpou will appear before the Nicosia Criminal Court following complaints by the Nicosia Police Department that he illegally raised £573 for a woman’s life-saving operation.

Michael told the Mail that the story began in January 2001 when, “a high-ranking official from the Foreign Ministry attempted to have his domestic assistant from the Philippines deported.”

He added that the woman had a life-threatening medical condition but Nicosia General Hospital refused to treat her unless outstanding medical bills were paid.
“We managed to stop her deportation and initiated a fundraiser with the result that £573 was raised for a much-needed operation,” he said.

At the time, the media followed the story closely, resulting in the hospital agreeing to treat her free of charge.

Fundraising without a permit is an illegal activity on the island.

The money was then placed in a separate account for safekeeping, and in July 2002, KISA promised to use the money to help another recognised refugee.”

But less than two years later, Nicosia Police initiated court proceedings against Polycarpou, where a £200 fine was imposed, as well as the confiscation of the £573,” Michael explained.

The police were then unable to take the money out of the account as KISA had transferred it, resulting in tomorrow’s new court proceedings.

“No other organisation has been targeted for illegal fundraising, so why us?” he wondered.

If convicted Polycarpou faces two years in prison.

Through a press release, the organisation stated: “The criminalisation of KISA and its members constitutes an unacceptable and persecuting act that aims to intimidate and silence not only KISA, but also NGOs in general, and that has no place at all in a state of justice.”
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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.