Ordered to reappear on Thursday
RENEGADE M.E.P. Marios Matsakis was freed on an £18,000 bond yesterday subject to reappearing in a court in the north on Thursday, faced with the charge of stealing a Turkish flag.
Matsakis, who was arrested at the Ledra Palace checkpoint on New Year’s Eve, had earlier in the day attended a north Nicosia military court for illegally entering a Turkish Cypriot military area. It was decided that his political immunity would stand and his trial would be put on hold until his service as an MEP ends in 2009. As he was leaving the court, Matsakis was verbally assaulted and threatened by Turkish Cypriot ultra right-wing extremist group.
The MEP hit the headlines back in November after entering the buffer zone near Louroujina and snatching a Turkish flag from a military observation post. At the time the Turkish Cypriot authorities announced that they had issued a warrant for his arrest.
After his release last night, Matsakis told reporters that he had not been treated badly but that the prison’s conditions were abysmal.
“They didn’t treat me badly, they didn’t abuse me and I am OK. My stay at the Nicosia prison was painful because they are really dungeons. Not just for me but for the other inmates too, whom I must say supported me. They were all young boys.”
In the Nicosia prison they had kept him in isolation, he said.
“It was a damp, cold room with a stone bed and I had three blankets. I was really freezing at night. And hygiene standards were non-existent.”
On the second day of his arrest he was taken to the Turkish Cypriot Central prison, just outside Nicosia.
“At first I was put in a cell with a man who was serving a long-term sentence for killing someone. He treated me very well and welcomed me to his cell.
“Unfortunately, the other inmates started shouting and created a scene in the prison. I was scared that my life was in danger. The guards and Prison Director intervened immediately and removed me from that holding area and took me to another area where I spent the night. I didn’t sleep because I thought that someone may attempt to murder me.”
The fact that the military court had decided that his parliamentary immunity was also valid in the north, he continued, was a very significant development.
“I believe that this is a very important decision which should be suitably evaluated by the state’s legal services and others who specialise on the subject.”
Matsakis then told reporters that the military court’s “Attorney General” had “played a dirty game” by telling him that he was free to go, only to send him on to the civil court.
“There they pressed different charges. There the so-called Attorney said that my political immunity does not stand and that I should have a normal trial. He then stated that they would appeal the military court’s decision. Because this decision is obviously not to their advantage.”
The civil court decided to further examine the matter, to determine whether the military court’s decision was right in considering Matsakis’ immunity valid.
“I said, ‘You may be discussing this matter, it is serious and needs legal discussions; but you can’t keep me here until you decide what is right and what is wrong. And you mainly can’t keep me away from the European Parliament, which I must attend tomorrow (Tuesday).’
“The judge then said the trial would re-commence on Thursday morning at 8.30am and that from that moment I would be free to go. But I would have to sign a bond of £18,000, guaranteeing that I would be present on Thursday.”
Matsakis informed the court that he would not be able to attend as he would still be in Brussels and asked if they could extend it to next Monday.
“The so-called judge said that they couldn’t because of the Bayram next week.”
“I believe that they simply don’t want me to reappear in court and they don’t want to re-examine this matter, which could be very harmful for the Turkish Cypriot side.”
The MEP admitted that he didn’t know what was written on the bond document he had signed: “I signed it saying that I didn’t know what I was signing for.”
On Saturday, the former member of political party DIKO had accompanied Polish MEP Genowefa Grabowska to the checkpoint to offer, as he said, a cake and chocolates to Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat in a gesture of goodwill.
When he refused to submit any documents, Matsakis was reportedly told to wait at the checkpoint while a Turkish Cypriot officer got clearance from his superiors. Moments later a group of plainclothes officers appeared and asked Matsakis to go with them.
Eyewitness Grabowska expressed her disapproval of the Turkish Cypriot authorities’ actions against Matsakis and announced yesterday that she had already informed President of the European Parliament Joseph Borrel on Saturday’s events.
“He (Matsakis) told me: ‘you know this is the last day of the year and everybody should be polite to another so lets forget what happened in the past. Now I would like to wish them a Happy New Year.”
She said the two had presented their MEP cards at the Ledra Palace checkpoint and they were told to wait. Suddenly an officer appeared and asked Matsakis to follow him. When he refused they grabbed him and put him in a car between two men.
“For me you know it’s very sad because I told the man that he is a European Parliamentarian and that he has immunity, he shouldn’t be arrested because we are in Cyprus. Cyprus is a part of the EU and immunity should be respected. But they didn’t care about it. Somebody told me that here it is not the European Union, so I was surprised.”
She stressed that the military court has no power over MEPs. She reminded that only the European Parliament has the authority to lift a member’s immunity.
“I have already informed our president of the European Parliament, Mr. Joseph Borrell about what’s happened here. He should know because he is our president. He should know how European Parliamentarians are treated.”
Grabowska reassured the Cypriot public, however, that she would be taking with her positive memories of the warm hospitality of the Cypriots.
“I still hope that it (Matsakis’ arrest) was an accident that was made by someone not responsible enough”.
