THE LAWYER acting for a British man who was held illegally at the Central Prison has vowed to fight for justice after what he described as “a very serious breach of human rights”.
The case has caused a major political row and raised questions over heavy-handed and possibly racist treatment of foreigners by authorities.
Lawyer Giovannis Kouzalis was so appalled by the incident that his firm took on the case without fee and currently have several staff working on the issue flat out.
The British man’s ordeal began moments after he was released from serving a one-month prison sentence for drink-driving.
Minutes after leaving the prison, the man who is HIV positive, was ordered back into custody and held without lawful authority for a further 15 days.
To compound the situation, a deportation order was slapped on him because of his health status, which apparently made him a “threat to public health and safety”.
“He has lost trust in everything to do with Cyprus; he is scared, worried and anxious,” Kouzalis told the Cyprus Mail.
“From our point of view as solicitors, we feel that a human being – a European citizen – has been imprisoned for no apparent reason. There was no warrant, there was no order – there was nothing from the court or the police – in fact nothing from anybody known to us or to our client for his being held in custody.”
The man, who is too scared to be publicly identified, claims he was denied crucial medication during the entire duration of his detention.
Effective HIV therapy lies with a strict treatment course, which doctors advise is not interrupted. Non-adherence to the treatment is thought to cause complications for the patient.
His lawyers say the incident has been hugely distressing for their client; who has lost 11 kilograms, is suffering from severe anxiety and remains too terrified to talk openly about his ordeal.
The man was too scared to even grant a telephone interview to the Cyprus Mail, fearing that his location and identity could be revealed.
Interior Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis said his ministry was made aware of the matter on the day the man was released after serving his sentence – following a plea by Ombudswoman Eliana Nicolaou who was investigating the case.
Sylikiotis was also handed letters from a British MEP, the British High Commission in Nicosia and the man’s lawyer.
Sylikiotis ordered the man to be released on June 11.
The man, originally from Africa, became an EU citizen in 2006 and was in the Famagusta District to find work for the summer season with his partner.
Kouzalis said those involved in the debacle had shown poor judgement and said they must “learn lessons” from the affair.
“This is beyond discrimination,” Kouzalis added, “This is totally out of order. We wrote letters weeks ago to the relevant authorities and we still don’t have answers or replies.
“We were denied even our legal rights to see the case folder. He didn’t have proper food, no proper medication – no rights at all. He suffered a lot during his custody,” he added.
MP Ionas Nicolaou said the case was humiliating for the country and has caused considerable damage to the reputation of Cyprus.
“Not only does this matter embarrass us as a state, but it is unbelievable and insulting to us as people,” he said.
Blogs and internet message boards have been rife with public comment about this and similar cases and all see a clear pattern emerging – that racism and homophobia is still rife in Cyprus.
The Attorney-general will be presented with the facts of the case tomorrow morning and is expected to call for a wide-ranging investigation into the scandal, which has caused outrage in Cyprus and abroad.
