Three Turkish families apply for asylum

The three families of Turkish nationals – in total 12 people – who were caught on Monday after attempting to travel with fake documents from Larnaca airport have filed for political asylum, it was reported on Tuesday.

Around noon on Monday, three families of Turkish nationals –  six children and six adults – arrived at Larnaca airport, intending to fly to Germany. During passport control, police realised that some of them had fake passports, while the rest presented fake visas.

One family of four, police said, presented fake Turkish passports, while the others presented fake Turkish visas. The police arrested the three men, while the three women and the six children were taken to a Larnaca hotel. The families reportedly told police they have been living in the north the last three to four years.

The Cyprus News Agency reported that the legal services said on Tuesday that the group would not be prosecuted and that instructions were given to the immigration and asylum service to process their request for political asylum.

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.