A CLASS action suit seeking $400billion in damages for occupied Greek Cypriot property from the Republic of Turkey and the ‘TRNC’ was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on October 19, 2009.
The suit was filed by three Greek Cypriots, Mihalis Toumazou, Nicolas Kantzilaris and Maroula Toumpazou, by Washington DC-based attorney Athan Tsimpedes.
The lawsuit is asking the court to decide that Turkey and the ‘TRNC’ should pay compensation for the denial of access, use and enjoyment of Greek Cypriot land in the north.
Turkey is being sued as a foreign state in violation of its duty of care. The lawsuit is based on the fact that Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974 and is maintaining an illegal occupation with the use of American weapons.
According to US law Turkey had the duty not to use the weapons obtained from the US in violation of international law or offensively. People whose rights are affected by this violation can sue Turkey through the American courts.
Tsimpedes said during a news conference yesterday, that the lawsuit seeks $400 billion in compensation, not only for the properties but also for the infrastructure including, utilities, ports, ancient sites and the monies received by Turkey from using the properties belonging to displaced owners and local municipalities.
According to Tsimpedes, the TRNC would most accurately be classified in the USA as an organised crime outfit, as it’s not recognised as a state, and it is engaging in commercial activity within the US itself for example in its advertisement of properties for sale in the north. Thus the TRNC portion of the case would come, at least in part, under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act (RICO).
“The outcome of the action will be much sooner than the ten years or so it takes at the European Court of Human Rights. Most importantly, the court has power to compel the liquidation of assets belonging to the defendants in the US,” explained Tsimpedes.
This means that if the case was successful the US government could seize and liquidate assets held in the US by Turkey itself and by the ‘TRNC’ in order to pay the compensation due the claimants.
He said pre-trial issues were estimated to take approximately two to three years to resolve with the trial itself taking around a year.
Asked what he thought his chances of succeeding were he said: “I wouldn’t be here if I thought my chances of success were small”.
The fee to participate in the trial is 25 per cent of the gross amount of any compensation received and $300 per land deed.
Tsimpedes recognises that he would be opening a Pandora’s box in terms of international legal precedent with this case by prosecuting the basis of arms dealing, addressing the basis on which war is conducted and the spoils arranged, and classifying the ‘TRNC’ as a mafia-style entity. “I set the precedent on suing foreign governments,” he said.
Tsimipedes has already won a case against the French state, and the next case he is planning is against the Government of Iraq.
Anyone who owns or has right to property, businesses, assets or has suffered individual injuries can take part in the lawsuit. Tsimpedes called on every person interested to join in case the court denies the certification of the class action and only individual cases go forward.
The lawyer explained that in case of a solution in Cyprus before the conclusion of the trial or the settlement of the case, the plaintiffs who have filed their actions will preserve the rights to the compensation determined by a court as opposed to the compensation for property rights that will be determined by such a solution.
- For more information or to participate in the case see: www.tsimpedeslaw.com
