Üstel: Greek Cypriot Administration’s Arrest Attempts Are Unlawful And Hostile

In a written statement, Üstel said the Greek Cypriot Administration’s planned arrests and prosecutions related to immovable properties located within the territory of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), where property disputes remain unresolved, constituted a clear abuse of legal processes driven by political aims.

He said the Greek Cypriot side was pursuing a dangerous course by disregarding the 1960 Treaties of Establishment, the European Convention on Human Rights and the fundamental principles of international law, with the aim of placing economic, social and political pressure on the Turkish Cypriot people. Such actions, Üstel stressed, could not be justified either legally or in good faith.

Emphasising that the TRNC is an independent state operating within its own constitutional order, judicial system and sovereign authority, Üstel said that all legal and commercial transactions carried out within TRNC borders were subject to TRNC law. He added that arrest attempts targeting citizens, third-country nationals, contractors, investors and even Greek Cypriot citizens amounted to an overreach of jurisdiction and legal coercion.

Üstel underlined that subjecting foreign nationals to the threat of arrest when entering European Union territory constituted a direct blow to the principle of free movement and to European law, demonstrating that fear was being instrumentalised instead of law.

Referring to recent developments in France, Üstel said they had once again exposed the weakness of the Greek Cypriot Administration’s legal claims. He pointed to the decision by French courts to release Behdad Jafari, an Iranian-born TRNC citizen sought by the Greek Cypriot authorities, noting that the ruling highlighted how fragile and problematic the Greek Cypriot side’s international legal campaign was.

He said French judicial authorities had rejected the extradition request on the grounds that it was legally insufficient, taking into account established European legal precedents and the existing legal framework on property issues. This, Üstel added, was concrete proof that the Greek Cypriot Administration’s policy of arrests and intimidation over immovable property in Northern Cyprus was not upheld even by international judicial bodies.

Üstel also criticised efforts to ignore the Immovable Property Commission, recalling that it has been recognised by the European Court of Human Rights as an effective domestic remedy. He said the Greek Cypriot side continued to disregard this reality in line with its political objectives, thereby undermining legal solutions.

Such aggressive and unilateral actions, Üstel said, were further poisoning an already fragile climate on the island, undermining prospects for a settlement and causing lasting damage to trust between the two communities. He stressed that the Turkish Cypriot people were not without protection.

Üstel said that, in full coordination with Turkey, all necessary political, legal and diplomatic steps would be taken to protect the rights of citizens, investors and all those lawfully operating in the TRNC. He called on the Greek Cypriot Administration to return to common sense, respect international law and immediately abandon policies that escalate tension.

He concluded that a lasting solution in Cyprus could not be achieved through threats, arrests and intimidation, but only on the basis of sovereign equality and mutual respect for the will of both sides, adding that any other approach would only deepen division on the island.