North Cyprus Inform

South courts can't prosecute those entering via North

It would be impossible for courts in South Cyprus to penalize Cypriots or EU nationals for entering the island via the TRNC, South Cyprus chief immigration officer Anni Shakali said this week, apparently dismissing newspaper reports in the South that “administrative fines” were on the cards.

Ms Shakali's statement came in response to the reports that the Greek Cypriot government was considering imposing fines on anyone entering the island through the North and attempting to cross the “Green Line”.

Ms Shakali was quoted as having told the House Interior Committee: “We don't prosecute, despite the fact that they have entered illegally, because we don't want to overburden the justice system.”

The Cyprus Mail newspaper said she had told the committee that a proposal had been drawn up for legislation that would allow for administrative fines to be imposed on people crossing the “Green Line”, “having arrived through an illegal point of entry”. The paper wrote: “This takes on political importance because EU citizens will also be subject to fines.”

The head of the Delegation of the European Commission in Cyprus, Themis Themistocleous, told Cyprus Today that he had no information on the issue but the statement of the chief immigration officer of South Cyprus “was clear enough”.

Mr Themistocleous said the Green Line Regulations were introduced for the free movement of goods, services and people and what was happening in practice was in line with the regulation.