The only recording mechanism available is that of the police, set up in 2005. Between 2005-2009 it recorded 37 racial incidents, including repeated incidents in 2006 by the same offender who on 15 separate occasions damaged cars of Greek army officers. The mechanism is operated by a special unit that is understaffed, under resourced and mandated with several other responsibilities too. The numbers recorded are only a fraction of the real problem.

Clear
  • Racist violence - Hate Speech Statistics

    The Attorney General has discretion as to whether to prosecute or not and he has so far demonstrated reluctance in prosecuting for racist crimes. A negative precedent of the Courts acquitting a member of a Nazi group for attacking Turkish Cypriots led the police to habitually charge for ‘lesser’ offences not involving racism in order to secure convictions. As a result, there have never been any Court convictions for racist crime; the relevant laws remains unused.

    • Overall numbers of racist & hate crime

      Over the period 2005-2009 breakdown offered by the police is as follows: (The total does not add up to 37 as some of the incidents extend to more than one classification of the categories of incidents):

      • Thirteen instances of violence against the person;
      • Twenty four instances of violence against property;
      • Four instances of verbal threats and abusive behaviour – including harassment and hate speech;

      Qualitative Info

      The only recording of racially motivated crimes is carried out by a special unit of the police, the Police Bureau for Combating Discrimination, a greatly understaffed and underresourced department which is at the same time mandated with several other responsibilities. The recording mechanism for racial incidents was set up in 2005. The data it records are not publicly availble but can be made availabe, at the police's discretion, upon request. Between 2005-2009 the unit recorded 37 racial incidents: two in 2005, 18 in 2006, three in 2007, six in 2008 and eight in 2009. The unit itself recognises that the the figures are an underestimation of the true picture and that often they have to prioritise between the monitoring and recording of racial indicents and other pressing responsibilities of their mandate e.g. child abuse (Source: RAXEN Thematic Study 'Racist and Related Hate Crimes in Cyprus' written in September 2010 for the FRA).

      For the year 2005 (two incidents), one of the two incidents involved an alleged attack by a member of the police against a migrant TV actor from Benin. This is the only incident recorded by the mechanism which involves a member of the police force. This incident was recorded upon the recommendation of the Ombudsman. The other incident recorded for this year was the attack against a Turkish Cypriots by a member of the ultra nationalist organisation Chrysi Avgi (Golden Dawn) who at the same incident attacked also a person from Romania and a person from Greece who were in the company of the Turkish Cypriot. The perpetrator was criminally prosecuted but was acquitted by the Court who found that he was acting in self defence.

      For 2006 (18 incidents) the victims included persons from Iran, Greece, USA and Turkish Cypriots. The reason for the high number of incidents during 2006 in relation to other years was the repeated incidents by the same offender who on fifteen separate occasions inflicted malicious damage to cars of Greek high ranking army officials parked in public spaces because he considered them responsible for the military operations against Cyprus in 1974. [Note: It is rather odd that these incidents were recorded as racially motivated, when it is clear that the perpetrator was acting out of political convictions rather than racist motivation. He was targeting property belonging to military officials and not to Greek civilians in general.] The perpetrator was charged with malicious damage to property and was convicted. The other case recording this year was the attack against Turkish Cypriot students at the English School by a group of hooded far right youth. The perpetrators were charged with various offences unrelated to racism and were convicted.

      For the year 2007 (three incidents), the victims were a Turkish man of Kurdish origin, a Turkish Cypriot man and a Bangladeshi man. The perpetrators in the first two cases were a Cypriot male and a Georgian male. The perpetrator in the third case has not been found. The first two cases concern violence against the person and the third was destruction of property.

      For the year 2008 (six incidents), one case concerned violence against a person, one case concerned violence against both person and property and four cases concerned violence against property.

      For the year 2009 (eight incidents), four cases concerned violence against the person, four cases concerned violence against property, one case concerned both violence against person and property. Out of the total, three incidents included also threats and abusive behaviour.

      Over the period 2005-2009 breakdown offered by the police is as follows: (The total does not add up to 37 as some of the incidents extend to more than one classification of the categories of incidents)

      • Thirteen instances of violence against the person;
      • Twenty four instances of violence against property;
      • Four instances of verbal threats and abusive behaviour – including harassment and hate speech;
      • No Racist, xenophobic publications – including internet based;
      • No Extremist offences or offenders.

       

      Groups affected/interested

      • Migrants
      • Refugees
      • Roma & Travelers
      • Muslims
      • Ethnic minorities

      Type (R/D)

      • Extremism - organised Racist Violence
      • Nationalism

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Policing - law enforcement
      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Deaths/killings

      No

      Qualitative Info

      No death or killings related to racism have been reported in recent years.

        In July 2004, a Greek-Cypriot man killed a ten-year-old Roma boy in an unprovoked cold-blooded incident, which took place in a public area in Limassol. Even before the conclusion of the inquest, the Cyprus government and all political parties rushed to condemn the incident as an isolated crime committed by a psychopath with a criminal record, who was also a drug addict, obviously fearing retaliations and further violence from members of the Turkish-Cypriot community. In a press release after the incident, one human rights NGO regretted the interpretation offered by the authorities. It argued that psychopathologic conditions or drug abuse do not automatically turn a person into a murderer, nor do they justify the apparently nationalist and racist motives of the murderer. In the court action that followed, the judge also rejected the authorities’ position of the perpetrator being a person of diminished responsibility but there have been no findings relating this incident to racism.

      Groups affected/interested

      • Roma & Travelers

      Type (R/D)

      • Extremism - organised Racist Violence

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Daily life
      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Court cases on racist - hate crime

      There have been no Court decisions on racist crime

      Qualitative Info

      Under the Cypriot legal system, the Attorney General enjoys discretion as to whether to prosecute a person or not and traditionally the Attorney General has demonstrated considerable reluctance in prosecuting assailants for racist crimes. Thus although the legislative framework provides ample authority for prosecuting offenders for racial incidents, the Attorney General will not use these legislative provisions in order to bring charges for racism related offences. In 2005, amidst the climate of nationalism and intolerance created by the rejection of the UN peace plan in 2004, for the first time in decades there were three incidents of racial violence against Turkish-Cypriots, all three of which led to criminal prosecutions but not to any conviction. In two out of the three cases the accused was the same person, who also declared himself to be a member of the nazi organisation Chrysi Avgi (“Golden Dawn”). He was acquitted by the court on the ground that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and that any actions of the accused were done in self-defence. This negative precedent of the Court controversially acquitting a blatant assailant has made the prosecution authorities reluctant to prosecute offenders for racial crime; instead a tendency has developed to prosecute for lesser offences (breach of the peace, assault etc) in order to secure convictions (interview with the head of the Police Bureau for Combating Discrimination, recorded in the RAXEN Thematic Study ‘Racist and Related Hate Crimes in Cyprus’ carried out for FRA in September 2010’.) Since the acquittal of the assailant in the aforesaid case, all prosecutions relating to racial attacks are based on charges unrelated to racist motive. Such was also the case of the attack against Turkish Cypriot students at Nicosia’s prestigious English School in November 2006 by far right hooded youth: the charges did not involve racist motive and the Court delivered sentences of a few hours of community work for each assailant.


       

       

      Groups affected/interested

      • Migrants
      • Ethnic minorities

      Type (R/D)

      • Nationalism
      • Xenophobia

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Policing - law enforcement
      See other countriesSee indicator history
  • Discrimination Statistics

    In 2004, the ECtHR found Cyprus guilty of discrimination (art. 14 of the ECHR) against Aziz, a Turkish Cypriot who was denied the right to vote. Aziz applied to the ECtHR following a national Court decision denying him the right to be registered in the electoral roll on the ground that, under the Constitution, Turkish-Cypriots had to be registered in a separate electoral roll. The Turkish electoral roll had in practice been abolished since 1963.

     

    • Complaints regarding ethnic discrimination received by Equality Body/Agency/Court

      The complaints for the year 2010 received by the Equality Body were 166 in total.

      Qualitative Info

      The Courts do not keep records of cases according to ground or category. It is however known that no case has ever been tried in Cyprus on racial or ethnic discrimination invoking the laws transposing Directives 2000/43/EC and 2000/78/EC.

       The only body that maintains statistical records on complaints is the national equality body. However the complaints statistics for 2011 were not available at the time of writing. The complaints for the year 2010 concerning fields beyond employment were as follows: 121 complaints were received on the ground of race/ethnic origin (76%); 18 complaints on the ground of religion or belief or family status (11%). In 2010 the complainants were 43 Greek Cypriots (31%); 48 EU citizens (30%); 44 third country nationals (28%); 17 Turkish Cypriots (11%). In the field of employment, during 2010, the equality body received 22 complaints on the ground of racial origin (18%);  2 on ethnic origin (2%); 1 complaint on belief (religious or political) (1%); and 2 on the ground of language (2%). No record is available as to how many of these complaints were deemed to be well-founded. 

       

       

       

      Groups affected/interested

      • Migrants
      • Refugees
      • Muslims
      • Ethnic minorities
      • Religious minorities
      • Linguistic minorities
      • National minorities

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Policing - law enforcement
      • Employment - labour market
      • Housing
      • Health and social protection
      • Education
      • Anti-discrimination
      • Anti-racism

      External Url http://www.no-discrimination.ombudsman.gov.cy/sites/default/files/report_of_the_anti-discrimination_body_for_the_year_2010.pdf;http://www.ombudsman.gov.cy/Ombudsman/Ombudsman.nsf/All/F50DE2642EAD0CB1C225795000311395/$file/Book%20Isotita%20Fin%202-2010%20E

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Number of cases where ethnic discrimination was found/established by Equality Body/Agency/Court

      No record is available as to how many of these complaints were deemed to be well-founded.

      Qualitative Info

      The Courts do not keep records of cases according to ground or category. It is however known that no case has ever been tried in Cyprus on racial or ethnic discrimination invoking the laws transposing Directives 2000/43/EC and 2000/78/EC.

       The only body that maintains statistical records on complaints is the national equality body. However the complaints statistics for 2011 were not available at the time of writing. The complaints for the year 2010 concerning fields beyond employment were as follows: 121 complaints were received on the ground of race/ethnic origin (76%); 18 complaints on the ground of religion or belief or family status (11%). In 2010 the complainants were 43 Greek Cypriots (31%); 48 EU citizens (30%); 44 third country nationals (28%); 17 Turkish Cypriots (11%). In the field of employment, during 2010, the equality body received 22 complaints on the ground of racial origin (18%);  2 on ethnic origin (2%); 1 complaint on belief (religious or political) (1%); and 2 on the ground of language (2%). No record is available as to how many of these complaints were deemed to be well-founded.

       

       

       

       

       

       

      Groups affected/interested

      • Migrants
      • Refugees
      • Roma & Travelers
      • Muslims
      • Ethnic minorities
      • Religious minorities
      • Linguistic minorities

      Type (R/D)

      • Anti-migrant/xenophobia
      • Afrophobia
      • Arabophobia
      • Anti-roma/zinghanophobia
      • Religious intolerance
      • Inter-ethnic
      • Nationalism

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Employment - labour market
      • Housing
      • Health and social protection
      • Education
      • Media
      • Anti-discrimination
      • Anti-racism
      • Religion

      External Url http://www.ombudsman.gov.cy/Ombudsman/Ombudsman.nsf/All/F50DE2642EAD0CB1C225795000311395/$file/Book%20Isotita%20Fin%202-2010%20ENGL%20(1)%20website.pdf?OpenElement; http://www.no-discrimination.ombudsman.gov.cy/sites/default/files/report_of_the_anti-di...

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Cases solved / corrected / settled

      No relevant data available.

      Qualitative Info

      The Courts do not maintain any such records.

      The statistical record of the Equality Authority, one of the two bodies comprising the Equality Body, classifies the investigation of complaints according to their outcome but the categories are somewhat vague and unclear. For the year 2010, which is the last avaiable statistical record, in 10% of the cases there was compliance following the Equality Authority's intervention, in 2% of cases there was satisfaction of the complainant, in 3% of the cases a report with recommendations was published, in 13% of cases a report with suggestions was submitted, etc.

      Similarly, for the same year (2010) the statistical record of the Anti-discrimination authority, the other body comprising the national Equality Body, recorded "submission of reports with suggestions/recomendations" in 16% of cases, satisfaction of the complainant following the equality body's mediation in 11% of cases, "filed due to subsequent satisfaction of the complainant and/or his/her desire to withdraw the complaint in 19% of cases.

       

       

       

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Anti-discrimination

      External Url http://www.no-discrimination.ombudsman.gov.cy/sites/default/files/report_of_the_anti-discrimination_body_for_the_year_2010.pdf;http://www.ombudsman.gov.cy/Ombudsman/Ombudsman.nsf/All/F50DE2642EAD0CB1C225795000311395/$file/Book%20Isotita%20Fin%202-2010%20E

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Sanctions imposed / compensations / awards attributed-received

      None

      Qualitative Info

      No sanctions were imposed either by the Courts or by the Equality Body for any case involving racial/ethnic discrimination.

      In the case of the Courts, there was no such decision.

      In the case of the equality body, several reports with recommendations were issued in cases where racial/ethnic discrimination was established, but no sanctions were imposed.

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Anti-discrimination
      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • ECtHR cases - decisions art.14 etc.

      There is only one decided case, that of Ibrahim Aziz. The case of Sofi was settled prior to the issuing of a decision whilst the case of Kazali et al is still pending.

      Numbers of cases 1

      Qualitative Info

      Aziz v. The Republic of Cyprus

      By far the most well known and relevant conviction of Cyprus on the basis of ECHR article 14 is the case of Ibrahim Aziz v. Cyprus http://www.echr.coe.int/Eng/Press/2004/June/ChamberJudgmentAzizvCyprus220604.htm

      In 2001 Aziz, a Turkish Cypriot residing in the south applied to be registered on the electoral roll in order to vote in the forthcoming elections. His request was refused on the ground that under the Cyprus Constitution (article 63) Turkish-Cypriots could not be registered in the Greek-Cypriot electoral roll. Indeed, the Constitution did provide for separate electoral lists for Greek-Cypriots and for Turkish-Cypriots, but this was suspended in 1963. Following the rejection of his application, the complainant appealed to the Supreme Court, relying on Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights and arguing that, following the dissolution of the Communal Chambers in 1963, the Republic failed to set up two separate electoral lists to protect the electoral rights of members of both communities. The Cyprus Supreme Court rejected his application, holding that the applicable legislation did not provide for Turkish-Cypriots living in the south to be included in the Greek-Cypriot electoral list and that the Cyprus Courts had no power to reform the Constitution. Following this rejection, the complainant applied to the European Court of Human Rights who ruled in favour of the complainant. The Court found that Cyprus was in violation of Article 3, Protocol 1 of the ECHR for denying the complainant “the very essence of the applicant’s right to vote”; and of Article 14 of the same Convention, as the difference in treatment complained of was a result of the complainant’s ethnic origin and such difference could not be justified on reasonable and objective grounds. In 2006 the law was amended to provide for the Turkish Cypriots’ right to vote under certain conditions.

      Sofi v Cyprus

      The applicability of article 14 of the ECHR on the issue of Turkish Cypriot properties located in the Republic- controlled south of Cyprus will inevitably be considered by the ECtHR very soon now, as more and more Turkish Cypriot property owners are applying to the ECtHR for having been denied access to their properties by the Cypriot government. On the basis of a law enacted in 1991 (Law on the Administration of Turkish Cypriot Properties in the Republic and Other Related Matters N.139/1991) the administration of all Turkish Cypriots in the south are vested in the Minister of the Interior as "Custodian" until resolution of the Cyprus problem. This institution effectively deprives all Turkish Cypriots of their property located in the south until resolution of the Cyprus problem, save for some exceptions. In 2010 the ECtHR considered the application of Sofi who owned property in Larnaca from which she fled in 1963, when hostilities broke out between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. The applicant and her family sought refuge from the hostilities in an enclave populated by Turkish Cypriots. In 2003 the applicant applied to the Ministry of Interior seeking recovery of possession of her house, informing the Ministry that she intended to move back to her house in Larnaca. The Ministry replied that the relevant properties had been vested in the Custodian of Turkish-Cypriot properties and that a family of displaced persons of Greek-Cypriot origin from the northern part of Cyprus was living in them. The applicant applied to the ECtHR complaining that she was denied access to and enjoyment of her immovable property in Cyprus, which disclosed inter alia a violation of Article 14 in that she had been discriminated against as a Turkish Cypriot. Before the Court delivering its judgement, the Cypriot government submitted an offer for a friendly settlement, which was accepted by the applicant. The offer involved satisfaction of the applicant’s claim for vacant possession of her property from January 2009, compensation for loss of use at €427,150.36, compensation for non-pecuniary loss at €59,801.06 and legal costs at €50,000. The ECtHR accepted the friendly settlement, “satisfied that the settlement is based on respect for human rights” [Application no. 18163/04 by Nezire Ahmet Adnan SOFI against Cyprus http://cmisk Kazali et al v. Cyprus p.echr.coe.int/tkp197/view.asp?action=html&documentId=862144&portal=hbkm&source=externalbydocnumber&table=F69A27FD8FB86142BF01C1166DEA398649].

      Kazali et al v. Cyprus (still pending)

      In the group application of Kazali et al v. Cyprus which is currently pending before the ECtHR, a total of 27 Turkish Cypriot property owners are suing the Cypriot government for denial of access to their properties, alleging violation of article 14 (http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/view.asp?action=html&documentId=852064&portal=hbkm&source=externalbydocnumber&table=F69A27FD8FB86142BF01C1166DEA398649).

      Therefore, what the Cypriot government tried to avoid by reaching a friendly settlement with Sofi (above), i.e. the legal precedent that would shake the foundations of the ‘Custodian’, it may eventually have to face in this application. If this application succeeds, which appears very likely, the economic burden of having to compensate the applicants as well as many other Turkish Cypriot property owners who will apply after them, may well become difficult for the Cypriot government to bear in the midst of the economic crisis.

       

       

       

      Groups affected/interested

      • Ethnic minorities

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Housing
      • Political participation
      • Daily life

      External Url http://www.echr.coe.int/Eng/Press/2004/June/ChamberJudgmentAzizvCyprus220604.htm

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Cases - investigations before other EU and international bodies (European Committee for Social Rights - UN HRC - CAT etc.)

      5 complaints were submitted against Cyprus under ICCPR

      Qualitative Info

      Five complaints were submitted against Cyprus to the Human Rights Committee under the First Protocol to the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights. out of these, four were deemed inadmissible and one was discontinued. it is not certain that these complaints were race-related.

       No complaints were submitted against Cyprus in the framework of the procedures provided under:

      -  The  Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights

      Optional Protocol to the Convention on the elimination of Discrimination against Women

      The existence of these complaints procedures is generally not well known in Cyprus, as suggested by the few/zero complaints submitted.

      Article 22 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

      Article 14 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

       

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Decisions-Infringment procedures initiated before the European Court of Justice

      No

      Qualitative Info

      There have been no infringement proceedings against Cyprus as regards the anti-discrimination acquis (Directives 2000/78/EC and 2000/43/EC).

      See other countriesSee indicator history