CYPRUS GOT the thumbs up from a group of visiting European Parliamentarians for its handling of the large flow of asylum seekers and irregular migrants to the island.
The Committee on civil liberties, justice and home affairs (LIBE) came to Cyprus for a three-day visit to ascertain the minimum standards set for the reception of asylum seekers and irregular migrants.
Head of the delegation, MEP Martine Roure told reporters yesterday that Cyprus was the last of 12 countries that the Committee had visited within the EU.
“In Cyprus, there are around 200 detainees. The asylum seekers are free to move around, something which we appreciate. Of course, the lengthy procedure for examining asylum applications is something which worries us,” she said.
However, after visiting a number of detention and reception centres on the island, Roure was satisfied with the general level of standards for detainees.
“Of course, they are prisons, it’s not a holiday camp, but they are clean and without major problems. I say all this because we went to many countries and in some places, it was hell. I can’t say here is comparable to what we saw elsewhere,” she said.
The MEP referred to the small numbers of detained migrants, compared to other countries where thousands are detained, including asylum seekers.
“Here, [asylum seekers] have freedom of movement,” she noted.
Asked which country from those visited had the worst detention conditions, Roure said: “It’s no secret. You can see the reports on our website. Malta was the worst. It was hell. Thousands and thousands lived in absolutely impossible conditions.”
The head of the Committee delegation highlighted the serious problem faced by Cyprus regarding the occupied areas.
“We were also able to see that most people come through the north. Obviously this is a big problem. Turkey, as an EU candidate country, must live up to its responsibilities regarding illegal migrants,” she said, adding that the delegation would raise the issue with the European Commission.
In response to questions, Roure said she had neither seen nor heard about instances of torture of detainees.
“We spoke to detainees freely but heard of no cases of torture.”
Interior Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis reiterated after his meeting with LIBE that the biggest problem faced by the authorities was the influx of illegal immigrants coming from the north through the British bases.
“As a country in the southeast Mediterranean, Cyprus is an EU member which receives immigrants from the most politically sensitive areas of the world, the Middle East and the Gulf,” Sylikiotis explained.
EU countries should show more solidarity on the issue of immigration, he added.
“Today, no one is detained for more than six months,” he stressed, adding that efforts were underway to speed up the lengthy procedures for the examination of applications for political asylum from two years to two months.
“However, even if we manage to speed up procedures, we should never neglect our obligations, and we shall observe strictly the relevant directives,” Sylikiotis said, adding: “Those who really need state protection will have it.”
Meanwhile, the EU is currently discussing new common rules on the maximum lengthy of detention for illegal immigrants. The current proposal sets a six-month limit, except in more complicated circumstances where an EU country can detain a person for up to 18 months.
Italy wants to go a step further and criminalise illegal immigrants so they serve jail sentences if caught entering the country illegally.
“This is an Italian problem. When they take such a decision, we will see if its compatible with EU law or not,” said Roure.
PEOPLE who enter the country illegally and are caught are usually detained until the state can arrange for their deportation back to the country of origin. If the detainee does not have travel documents, this process can take years. For those claiming political persecution or asylum from war, violence and instability back home, the state is obliged to examine their cases. If an asylum seeker breaks any laws of the land, however minor, the state has the right to keep them in detention until their application is processed, which on average, takes around two years.
Under refugee laws, the state is obliged to examine asylum applications even if the person entered the country illegally. Many asylum seekers belong to the latter group, causing the common misconception that asylum seekers and illegal migrants are one and the same.
The authorities have in the past come under fire for making illegal entry a crime punishable by jail. It has since adopted a six-month cap on the detention of illegal immigrants. The policy is believed to have coincided with the change of government and more directly, the programmed LIBE visit. A number of long-held illegal migrants and asylum seekers, in custody for up to four years, were released from police detention in the weeks running up to the LIBE visit.
