Refugees’ and migrants’ rights

In January, the premises of anti-racist NGO KISA were severely damaged by an attack with an explosive device, following reports of threats and harassment against KISA and its associates by anti-migrant and nationalist groups. Concerns were raised about the criminal prosecution of KISA’s former executive director Doros Polykarpou, which appeared to be motivated by his human rights work.

In April, the authorities suspended the processing of applications for international protection by Syrian nationals, “pending developments” on the assessment of the situation in Syria, which the authorities called for at EU level.

In June, UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, expressed concerns about the summary return of asylum seekers to the UN buffer zone. In November, following an interim measures request by two NGOs to the European Court of Human Rights, asylum seekers who had been stranded for many months in the buffer zone were transferred to the Limnes pre-departure centre in Kofinou and given access to asylum procedures. In the context of increased numbers of asylum seekers arriving by sea, reports emerged during the year of summary and therefore unlawful returns by sea to Lebanon, including incidents in 2023 in which Syrians were subsequently returned to Syria. In October, the European Court of Human Rights condemned Cyprus for summarily returning a group of Syrians to Lebanon in 2020, in violation of the prohibition of collective expulsion, and for failing to assess the risks upon return.

Excessive use of force

In April, there were reports of excessive use of force during the arrest, and ill-treatment in detention, of people protesting at the death of a Bangladeshi man after he jumped from his bedroom window during a police raid in Limassol.

Freedom of assembly

In June, concerns were raised by civil society about a draft bill seeking to regulate protests, including provisions criminalizing organizers of and participants in a banned gathering, as well as protesters wearing face coverings.

Impunity

In May, a new inquest into the 2005 death of army conscript Athanasios Nicolaou ruled that his death was murder by strangulation. The Council of Ministers appointed two independent criminal investigators to reopen the case.

Right to a healthy environment

Cyprus fell seven places in the Climate Change Performance Index. The index noted that Cyprus’s share of renewable energy sources was low and that so-called “natural” gas was being promoted as a transition fuel for domestic energy production.

Enforced disappearances

Between 2006 and December, the remains of 1,051 missing individuals – 756 Greek Cypriots and 295 Turkish Cypriots – were identified by the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus.