Syrian man illegally crosses to north, asks to be sent to Syria

A Syrian man appeared in court in northern Nicosia on Friday after having illegally crossed from the Republic to the north with the aim of being sent back to Syria.

Police officer Ozan Kusak told the court that the man had crossed to the north near Mia Milia at around 9pm on Thursday, having likely been told by traffickers that travelling to the north was his best chance of being returned to his home country.

He added that the man had reportedly first arrived in the Republic around four years ago.

“As stated by the suspect present before you and other Syrian nationals who came to the TRNC illegally before, they were left at the border in Nicosia and told, ‘go to the Turkish side and they will send you to your country’,” he said.

He requested that the man be remanded in custody for three days “so that the investigation can be conducted smoothly.”

The man who appeared in court on Friday is the sixth Syrian national since Sunday to have been caught crossing illegally to the north.

A family of four were arrested upon arrival in the north having crossed near Ledra Palace hotel in the early hours of Sunday morning, while another Syrian man did so later in the day, before handing himself into the Turkish Cypriot police later that day.

The man was sent to prison for a period not exceeding a month on Wednesday, having reportedly “given a statement to police about which route he took” after his initial hearing.