Five Egyptian fishermen, detained last week off Cyprus’ north-western coast by Turkish forces, returned by boat to Limassol on Saturday.
The fishermen were remanded in custody for three days by the Kyrenia district court but were fined and released, and set off for Limassol on Friday. Each paid a fine of €500.
The five-member crew were arrested last week while fishing on a Greek Cypriot vessel some seven nautical miles off Kormakitis and were charged with entering Turkish Cypriot ‘national waters’ and for illegal fishing.
Τhe boat, owned by the Greek Cypriot company Ta Psarokaika, was stopped in an area between Akamas and Kormakitis. Both the crew and the fishing boat were taken to Kyrenia.
On arrival at Limassol on Saturday around 10.30am, one of the fishermen told the press that during their initial detention on September 21, six Turkish soldiers went on board their boat claiming they were searching for illegal goods, meaning drugs, he said.
They were then arrested and the captain was forced to sail the boat to Kyrenia port. He said that the police “with a force of 200 men” were waiting at the port to apprehend them.
He also said that the owner of the fishing company that owns the boat, gave them money to buy food because no food was given to them in prison.
Egypt’s ambassador to Cyprus, Mai Taha Mohammed Khalil, expressed her happiness for the safe return of the Egyptian nationals and her gratitude to the Cypriot government for its assistance.
“I just want to say how happy I am that this ordeal ended in a good way and I would like first to greet the fishermen for their safe arrival. I would also like to thank the Cypriot government for assisting us and I would like to pay special thanks to the owner of the ship,” she said.
Replying to a question the ambassador told the press that she had been in close contact with the Egyptian government to keep them informed “minute by minute” throughout the fishermen’s ordeal
The owner of Ta Psarokaika, Aristos Aristidou said the plan was to continue to fish “as they have been doing all these years”.
He added that already on Saturday another company boat was in international waters, north of Apostolos Andreas on the north-easternmost point of the island.
“It is in Cypriot waters and we have every right to fish as we have done for many years and will continue to do unless the Cyprus government tells us not to go,” he added.
Aristidou said that over the summer, only of four fishing excursions his company made passed off without harassment from the Turkish navy. It was after two such incidents with different boats that the arrests of the fishermen happened, he added.
The Cyprus government had protested to the United Nations the detention of the crew onboard the fishing vessel and the confiscation of the boat by Turkish forces. The fishing boat was in international waters between Akamas and Kormakitis when the incident occurred.
The Turkish Cypriot media had reported that the crew of the Greek-flagged fishing boat belonging to the Cypriot company was arrested for “entering the territorial waters” of the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state.
