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Thu, 08 Jun 2006
When the will does not exist, simplest issues become complicated.
One would imagine that in a place like Cyprus which is so tiny and there is no natural barrier between the two sides, there would have been a consensus about topics like the handling of criminals (alleged or convicted) by now. However, there is no such thing yet. There have been examples in the past how these exchanges ocurred behind the doors through semi-legal means like driving the persons accross the Green Line so that interpol can catch them. The following shows several things. First of all, simply the fact the person that escaped from prison in north and got caught in south is on trial on charges of abducting and rapig a person does not imply anything about his potential involvement in crimes comitted in south. Unless there is something missing the quoted report below, it is just Cypriot police ignoring "innocent until proven guilty". Not that this is suprising, specially when we are talking about sexual crimes. The trial of these people became a big farce in north already. Now, the rest about whether they could be handed back, whether evidence can be shared. That is my main point and it is a shame. It shows that there is no will to solve simple issues. Instead of governments trying to run democratic, free, prosperous administrations, they just put their feet down and argue about stubborn politics.
P olice probe Drakos link as Turkish Cypriot rape suspect flees across the Green Line
By Simon Bahceli
POLICE say they will carry out DNA tests on a Turkish Cypriot who escaped south from prison in the north on Monday night in order to ascertain whether he might be the serial sex attacker, known as the Drakos, who terrorised Nicosia women last winter.
The move came after three of five prisoners, who escaped from the north’s central prison in Nicosia on Monday night, were arrested as they tried to cross into the government-controlled areas.
Thirty-year-old Kudret Celebi, who, along with his friend and fellow escapee 24-year-old Erkut Latif, was awaiting trial on charges of abducting and raping a 14-year-old girl in February, escaped from prison along with four others late on Monday night. Latif remains at large.
Police spokesman Demetris Demetriou told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that the three, one Turkish Cypriot and two Turks, were arrested after they were seen crossing from the park on the Roccas Bastion next to Paphos Gate in Nicosia. All three were charged yesterday with entering the government-controlled areas illegally.
However, ruling on the charges was put on hold until June 14 after the court was told that Celebi was awaiting trial for aggravated rape of a minor in the north. DNA tests will now be carried out to ascertain whether he might be responsible for a rape and a series of attempted rapes, sex attacks and muggings in government-controlled Nicosia.
The escape of the five has caused uproar in the north, where court appearances by Celebi and Latif have triggered angry protests by relatives and friends of the rape victim. The escape has also called into question security at north Nicosia’s notoriously overcrowded and understaffed central prison.
Yesterday, Turkish Cypriot police said they had arrested one of five escapees, a mainland Turk in prison for burglary, in Famagusta.
According to statements from the north’s prison authorities, the five escaped by cutting through iron bars in their accommodation. Then, amazingly, having found an unmanned watchtower, they crossed the perimeter wall to freedom.
Yesterday, Celebi and fellow escapee Mucahit Yanarates, who was serving a four-year sentence in the north for abducting and raping a Moldovan woman, appeared before the Nicosia criminal court. Both were charged with entering the government-controlled areas illegally and conspiring to commit an illegal act in the Nicosia municipal gardens.
Yanarates was also charged with living illegally in Cyprus. Celebi admitted to conspiring to commit an illegal act, but the two suspects denied all other charges.
Ruling on the charges was, however, postponed pending results of DNA tests, which are hoped might establish a link between Celebi and rapes conducted south of the Green Line. Court sources said seven witnesses were being lined up in the case against Celebi.
On Tuesday, Turkish Cypriot ‘prime minister’ Ferdi Sabit Soyer said he would seek the deportation of the three back to the north, but admitted such a concession from the Cypriot government was unlikely. Celebi is said to be a citizen of the Cyprus Republic, as well as of the north. The other two are likely to face deportation to Turkey via Greece.
The case will bring to light again problems caused by non co-operation between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot police forces.
In early 2005, five suspects held in the north over the murder in the south of Turkish Cypriot businessman Elmas Guzelyurtlu, his wife and daughter were set free when Cyprus police refused to hand over forensic evidence to the north that may have led to their conviction. Likewise, the Turkish Cypriot authorities refused to hand over the suspects to Cypriot justice, despite the fact that the crime had been committed within their jurisdiction.
Yesterday, the UN said it had been involved in discussions with the Cypriot police regarding the case, but did not confirm that the north had made an official application for the escapees to be returned.
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