Turks release Greek Cypriots in ‘cars for men’ deal

TWO GREEK Cypriots held in the north since last week were yesterday released to return home in a “cars for men” deal.

Unficyp spokesperson Sarah Russell said Dinos Anastasiou and Georgios Ioannou returned to the government-controlled areas via the Ledra Palace check-point in Nicosia at 1.30pm yesterday. Russell said the UN had, in co- operation with both sides, arranged for the two men to be released at the same time as cars impounded on both sides of the divide were exchanged.

These cars belonged to people apprehended in the past after straying across the dividing line from both sides.

“When people are caught on either side their cars are impounded. The owners want their cars back so we arranged for the cars to be exchanged,” Russell said.

Six cars went north and three cars came south, the spokesperson said. Some of the vehicles had been missing since the Summer.

Kakopetria villager Anastasiou, 50, was apprehended by the Turks in the Morphou buffer zone area while out collecting wild asparagus on Sunday.

Hospital worker Ioannou, 47, from the Nicosia suburb of Engomi, had been held since last Wednesday when he wandered across the green line in Ayios Pavlos, Nicosia, apparently in a state of drunkenness.

The UN had visited the Greek Cypriots during their detention and had found them to be in good health.

Both men had been brought up before military ‘courts’ in the north and been remanded for “illegal entry into a military zone.”