Turkish Cypriot Owner of Paphos Land Demands Compensation

The move came after repeated attempts to reach an agreement with the state over the sale of the land, which houses a Greek Cypriot refugee complex, according to a report in Philenews. 

The lawyer for the property, Yiannakis Papas, had addressed a letter to the mayor of Ierokipia municipality Nikos Palios, and deputy mayor of Timi George Polykarpou, as well as to the chair of the Houe refugee committee Nikos Kettiros over the matter. 

In it he claimed that efforts had been underway for 13 years by his client, Turkish Cypriot owner Dervise Kahya who legally owns the land, and who never received any state compensation for its use. 

As legal guardian of Kahya’s property rights, Papas, along with the interior minister, who also exercises this duty, are obligated to evaluate each situation of Turkish Cypriot-owned land use, and compensate accordingly, including via allocation of an analogous Greek Cypriot property in the north, Papas argued. 

According to the letter, the owner had been living abroad and had the right to request the termination of the handling of her property by the interior ministry’s Guardian of Turkish Cypriot lands. 

Properties belonging to Turkish Cypriots in the Republic came under the management of the Guardian of Turkish Cypriot lands after 1974 and the Turkish Cypriots went to the north, until such a time as a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus problem is found. 

Greek Cypriot refugees from the north were given rights of first use, for which they paid a nominal fee.  

In this case the Turkish Cypriot owner resides permanently in the USA since 1970 – before the Turkish invasion – and there is therefore no justification whatsoever for the handling of her land by the state guardian, and neither for the erection of refugee housing, according to Kahya’s legal representative. 

The letter also stated that the property in question had been proposed for sale to the Republic of Cyprus at the start of this year, with compensation from the sale to be granted to the owner, but that no answer over the matter had been received after inquiries to the state. 

Since this is the case, the legal representative had no recourse left but to proceed with legal action against the persons living on the property, to secure its abandonment and uninhibited return to its owner, the letter said. 

In recent years, widespread misuse allegations over the handling of Turkish Cypriot properties gathered force, prompting an audit service investigation. The audit service revealed that “insider” civil servants had made millions by appropriating such properties rented for negligible amounts from the state, and subletting them at far higher rates for use by non-refugees.  

A study of the bill on management of Turkish Cypriot properties led to legal amendments aimed at improving the transparency of allocation of such properties earlier this year. 

Several precedents of the current case followed, including the demolition of a Larnaca venue built on Turkish Cypriot land in 2023, after the two Turkish Cypriot owners filed suits and were awarded compensation. 

Also in 2023, a Turkish Cypriot with US citizenship was awarded €345,000 in compensation for loss of use of his property in Limassol and had ownership of the property returned to him. 

Source: Reuters