Greek Cypriot wants Turkish assets in Europe seized

A Greek Cypriot wants the Committee of Ministers, the Council of Europe’s decision-making body, to take “strong and effective” action to confiscate holdings of Turkey in France or another European country if Ankara fails to pay damages awarded by the European Court of Human Rights (Echr).

Professor Andreas Orphanides has called for the immediate execution of a European Court judgement, issued in 2009, in relation to the violation of his right to access his property in the north of Cyprus. He has moreover called for the immediate payment of damages awarded in 2010 by the same court.

In a recent letter addressed to the Committee of Ministers, Orphanides suggested that in the event Turkey does not pay by the next meeting of the body, on September 18-20, 2018, “the Committee of Ministers, within the framework of its authority to supervise the execution of the Echr judgments, should take all appropriate actions to confiscate holdings of the Respondent Government in a European country (for example in France where both the Echr and Council of Europe have their seats) for payment” of the damages awarded, plus interest.

He further asked for the immediate execution of the 2009 judgment and the individual measures “including immediate restoration of possession of my home and property.”

Orphanides said that he expected yearly amounts on a pro rata basis for the 2009-2018 period, to compensate him for Turkey’s failure to execute the relevant court judgments.

To date, Ankara has not paid damages relating to certain cases concerning missing persons and property claims, awarded by the European Court in Strasbourg to Cypriot applicants, for a number of violations committed in Cyprus during and after the 1974 Turkish invasion.

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.