Ewa Künzel’s Release Request Rejected

Künzel has been held in prison in the Republic of Cyprus for 26 months without a verdict being issued in her case. According to Hamburger Abendblatt, a 46-count indictment has been prepared against Künzel on charges including usurping property belonging to others, fraud and money laundering. She faces up to 14 years in prison if convicted and denies the charges.

Künzel is accused of marketing Greek Cypriot properties in northern Cyprus to German buyers without the knowledge or consent of their owners. The report notes that Greek Cypriots who fled the north in 1974 still hold the title deeds to their properties, while the Republic of Cyprus has taken tougher measures in recent years against alleged sales of such properties.

BAIL OFFER REJECTED

A Nicosia court rejected Künzel’s request for release again about a week and a half ago. She reportedly offered to post €300,000 in bail, surrender her passport, stay at a hotel in Nicosia and report to police every day. The court, however, refused to release her on the grounds that she posed a flight risk.

Künzel’s lawyer, Soteris Argyrou, claimed that his client is being held in a cell of approximately five square meters with a convicted prisoner and has been denied access to some important medication prescribed by her doctor. The report also alleges that officials from the German Embassy brought medication to Künzel, but that the medication was taken away again after the diplomats left.

Argyrou said he was unable to hold confidential meetings with his client because their meetings were monitored by cameras and prison officers. He also said Künzel had not yet been provided with a German translation of the indictment, arguing that these practices violate the European Convention on Human Rights.

ALLEGATIONS OF STRIP SEARCHES

According to the report, Künzel is brought to court in handcuffs for hearings held an average of three days a week. More than 100 hearings have reportedly taken place so far.

Künzel is said to have told her lawyer that she is forced to completely undress every time she returns to prison, searched with a sniffer dog and examined by female prison officers. She also reportedly said she was required to provide a urine sample without being told its purpose.

Her lawyer described these practices as “deliberate humiliation.” The report said legal experts consulted by Hamburger Abendblatt believe the practices should be assessed under the UN Convention Against Torture.

GERMAN EMBASSY FILES DIPLOMATIC NOTE

According to Hamburger Abendblatt, the German Embassy submitted a diplomatic note to the Cyprus Foreign Ministry on March 27, protesting the alleged human rights violations and reserving the right to take further action. However, a senior official at the Cyprus Foreign Ministry reportedly told German diplomats on August 14 that no such note had been received. The German Embassy, meanwhile, is said to have documentation confirming that the note was delivered.

Built in 1894 during British colonial rule, Nicosia Central Prison has been visited nine times by the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) since 1992. The report said conditions had deteriorated significantly during the committee’s most recent inspection in 2025, with the CPT describing the prison conditions as “degrading.”

The prosecution reportedly began following a complaint by a European Parliament member from the far-right ELAM party. The report describes ELAM as the Cyprus offshoot of the banned Greek neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn and notes that the party won 11 percent of the vote in the May 2026 elections, becoming the third-largest party in Parliament.

Some observers are reportedly of the view that President Nikos Christodoulides may need ELAM’s support for certain legislative measures or in the presidential election expected to be held in February 2028.