Erkan Egmez, the Turkish Cypriot farmer who was forcefully abducted from
the UN controlled buffer zone in October, 1995, was unexpectedly freed by
the Greek Cypriot authorities after 53 days of illegal detention and torture.
His sudden release came just three days before he was to stand "trial" for
allegedly possessing narcotics. All charges against Mr Egmez were dropped.
The release of Mr Egmez came at a time when Greek Cypriot authorities were attempting to quell the outrage caused by revelations of police brutality and malpractice in South Cyprus.
Revelations by the Greek Cypriot daily Cyprus Mail, in its issue dated December 6, 1995, exposed the shocking level of barbarity endured by Erkan Egmez at the hands of the Greek Cypriot police. Eye witness reports divulged that policemen wearing balaclavas continually beat Mr Egmez while he was being taken from the car into the hospital.
The newspaper also added that:"The abuse continued when Yousouf (Mr Egmez) was taken to his ward... It stopped when senior police officers arrived at the hospital."
In their frenzy of violence, the policemen totally ignored the protests of medical staff, and continued their relentless abuse against Mr Egmez. The extent of his injuries was so severe that the illegal remand order against him was issued while he lay in a hospital bed in Larnaca.
The full magnitude of the abuse suffered by Mr Egmez during his illegal incarceration have been revealed by the newspaper. It confirmed the findings of Turkish Cypriot Dr Kaya Bekiroglu, who was permitted to visit Mr Egmez during his detention, and doctors at the Nicosia Dr Burhan Nalbantoglu Hospital, who examined Mr Egmez immediately after he was returned to TRNC by UNFICYP officers.
Scarring all over his body was from lacerations inflicted by sharp instruments. In addition to cuts on his ear, his back and the soles of his feet, Mr Egmez was also badly bruised and swollen, as a result of vicious assaults.
"Lack of evidence" was said to be the reason for Mr Egmez's release and the charges against him being dropped. The Greek Cypriot Attorney-General also said it would not be in the "public interest" to proceed with the prosecution.
These questionable reasons, however, conceal the fact that the Greek Cypriot administration released Mr Egmez in order to avoid a trial which would have disclosed to the world the blatant violation of human rights he had suffered. The full glare of world public opinion, and the consequent negative publicity would have been detrimental to the Greek Cypriot administration, which was pursuing illegal and unilateral application for European Union (EU) accession at the time.
The case of Erkan Egmez also illustrated the Greek Cypriots' negative approach to the search for a mutually acceptable solution to the Cyprus question and to confidence building for the future.
The treatment meted out to Egmez was total contrast to that of the three Greek Cypriots who were held in custody for illegally entering the TRNC around the same time. A rise in the number of border violations was prompted by anti-Turkish demonstrations by the Greek Cypriot leadership at the time.
Co-operation with the Turkish Cypriot authorities meant the three Greek Cypriots, soldier Georgios Karotsakis, and civilians Georgios Hristofi and Yiannis Apostolides, were permitted visits by UNFICYP officials and their families.
They were reported to be in good health and all but one have been released. Mr Egmez's case has clearly illustrated that the discriminatory attitudes and policies of the Greek Cypriots have not changed at all.
Erkan Egmez, who still cannot walk properly because of the injuries he sustained at the hands of the Greek Cypriot police, took his case to the European Court of Human Rights (EHCR).
In December 2000, the ECHR decided that he Greek Cypriot regime was responsible for the mistreatment of Mr. Egmez and asked the Greek Cypriot regime to pay £10,400 compensation to Mr. Egmez.
In another case, the case of Mrs. Loizidou, a Greek Cypriot woman, Turkey is being asked to pay over $900,000 to her, who is supposed to be prevented from the use of her property in the TRNC.
This shows that the European institutions are biased when it comes to making decisions concerning the Greek and Turkish Cypriots. On one hand a person who was tortured for two months before he was released gets a compensation, which can be termed as diabolical, and a Greek Cypriot gets an astronomical amount of money for her misfortune because of the Cyprus problem created by her own sides atrocities since the first attacks on the Turkish Cypriots in 1963 up until 1974.
