Menoyia six released after rooftop protest

By Constantinos Psillides

THE six Menoyia detainees who climbed on the roof of the detention center on Monday were released on Wednesday, following instructions by the Interior Ministry.

The immigrants were released on parole under the condition they appear when their cases are up for evaluation by the Immigration Services.

The immigrants had climbed on the roof demanding to be released from the facility. They hanged a sign saying “No to racism” and threatened to kill themselves if their demands weren’t met. Police emergency response unit (EMAK) tried repeatedly to persuade the immigrants to come down but failed. On Monday night EMAK officers brought a crane to get the immigrants down but stopped when one of them tied a rope around his neck and threatened to hang himself off the roof.

To put an end to the impasse, the Interior Ministry decided on Tuesday afternoon to sign off on their release from Menoyia, provided that the immigrants appear before authorities when their appeal to be granted citizenship is up for examination. The immigrants accepted the Ministry’s proposal and climbed down the roof at around 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

The immigrants were held for a period of over 12 months in violation of EU regulations. According to EU law, a member state has the authority to detain an immigrant for a period of no more than 12 months – in extreme occasions – before deporting them to their country of origin.

Police and Immigration Services claimed on Monday that the immigrants have been convicted on criminal cases and that due to their criminal activity they have been deemed “a danger to society” and decided that they should be deported.

Michalis Paraskeva, a human rights lawyer, told the Cyprus Mail that the crimes the immigrants were convicted for were minor and don’t justify a prolonged detention and deportation.

“Not paying their social security, minor traffic violations, stuff like that. Certainly they didn’t deserve being branded a danger to society and then detained for over a year illegally,” Paraskevas said.

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.