Cyprus - October 2024

On 8 October, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Cyprus violated several human rights, including the prohibition of inhumane or degrading treatment, the prohibition of collective expulsion, and the right to an effective remedy, in the case of two Syrian nationals. In September 2020, Cypriot authorities intercepted the migrants at sea and immediately returned them to Lebanon, where they had lived in a refugee camp for four years after fleeing the conflict in Syria. The Court found that Cyprus had failed to process their asylum claims, as well as to evaluate the living conditions or the risk of persecution in Lebanon and examine the specific situation of the individuals concerned. The ruling sets an important precedent against migrant pushbacks, both at sea and at the buffer zone with Northern Cyprus. The Court ordered Cyprus to pay roughly EUR 50,000 in compensation to the applicants. 

Sources: ECHR, Council of Europe, The Guardian, JURIST, Cyprus Times