The European Court of Human Rights has condemned Cyprus for arresting 17 Kurdish asylum seekers, on June 11, 2010, finding however no violation of their subsequent detention, which in one case lasted 11 months.
The Court also ordered Cyprus to pay in total 16,546 euros as just satisfaction to some of the applicants.
The 17 were arrested in 2010 by the police in a makeshift camp, in Nicosia, where they protested, with many other Kurds from Syria, against the policies of Cypriot asylum authorities.
According to a press release, the Court in Strasbourg has delivered its judgment in two mass applications and one individual application.
The applicants in the first case are two Syrian nationals of Kurdish origin, who are husband and wife and are currently living in Paphos. The applicants in the second case are 12 Syrian nationals of Kurdish origin and two stateless Kurds, who were all deported in 2012, with the majority currently living in Syria, as well as in Northern Iraq, Austria, Greece and Cyprus. The applicant in the third case is a Syrian national of Kurdish origin who left Cyprus voluntarily in 2012 and is currently living in Northern Iraq.
All but one of the 17 applicants entered Cyprus illegally between 2004 and 2011. One person entered on a tourist visa. They all subsequently applied for asylum.
Concerning the couple`s case, the Court found that there has been a violation with regard to the lawfulness of their detention on June 11, 2010, but no violation with regard to their subsequent detention, until May 20, 2011.
The male applicant was again arrested on November 29, 2012 in Paphos airport and was detained until December 20, which the Court also found to be unlawful.
The couple was awarded 8,000 euros for non-pecuniary damage and 2,956 euros for costs and expenses.
Concerning the second mass application of 14 people, the Court found that all had their rights compromised when they were arrested by the police on June 11, 2010. On their subsequent incarceration, the Court found for nine of them this to be lawful and for the remaining five this to be unlawful.
The Court dismissed, however, their claim for just satisfaction.
In the individual, third case, the ECHR said no violation had taken place with regard to the applicants` detention from June 11, 2010 until April 20, 2011.
The Court awarded 4,000 euros for non-pecuniary damage and 1,590 for costs and expenses.
In all cases, the Court said the right of all applicants to speedy proceedings, deciding the lawfulness of their detention, was violated.
It dismissed claims that the applicants in all three cases were not informed promptly on the reasons of their arrest, along with their complaint that the authorities were going to deport them collectively.
The applicants` complaints concerning inhuman or degrading behavior and with regard to their right to an effective remedy were declared inadmissible in the first two cases and were struck out in the third case.
