Six months in jail in north for Greek Cypriot who forged car insurance

A Greek Cypriot who was arrested by Turkish Cypriot police after presenting them with forged car insurance documents was sentenced to six months in prison on Wednesday.

The man, named as Costas Martas, attempted to cross to the north at the Ayios Dometios checkpoint, when he presented forged car insurance documents to the Turkish Cypriot police. He was arrested on the spot.

He appeared before a panel of judges on Wednesday at northern Nicosia’s High criminal court, with judge Vedia Berkut Barkin reading the verdict.

Barkin stressed the “importance” of car insurance, “both for individuals’ own safety, and for the safety of other road users,” and added that the sentence handed down to Martas must be a sufficient deterrent to others who may consider committing such crimes.