The Republic of Cyprus will pay around €25,000 each to two asylum seekers for degrading treatment and pushback as they sought refuge in Cyprus from Lebanon, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) decided on Tuesday.
Syrian nationals – M.A and Z.R – were intercepted at sea by Cypriot authorities and were immediately returned to Lebanon.
In a unanimous decision, judges ruled “that the Cypriot authorities had essentially returned M.A. and Z.R. to Lebanon without processing their asylum claims and without all the steps required under the Refugee Law”.
The two asylum seekers set sail on a boat in September 2020 with a group of approximately 30 Syrian and Lebanese people including unaccompanied minors.
According to the testimony, they were intercepted by Cyprus’ authorities where an interpreter told them they were not allowed to continue their journey.
They were provided with food and were told no one would be allowed to enter Cyprus and that they should return to Lebanon, or the police would escort them back.
The applicants told the interpreter that they wished to apply for asylum, explaining that they were Syrians, their house had been destroyed in the war and that they had children and families to take care of.
“Their explanations were ignored, the interpreter stating that there was a new law in Cyprus under which refugees were not allowed to disembark. Their identity cards were taken from them.”
Court found Cyprus had violated Article 3 – prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Cyprus also violated Article 4 of Protocol No 4 – prohibition of collective expulsion of aliens.
There was also a violation of Article 13 – right to an effective remedy, and also violation of Article 3 of the European Convention.
“It was evident from the government’s submissions that the national authorities had not conducted any assessment of the risk of lack of access to an effective asylum process in Lebanon or the living conditions of asylum-seekers there, and had not assessed the risk of refoulement – the forcible return of refugees to a country where they might be subjected to persecution. Nor had they examined the specific situation of the individuals concerned.”
The court held that Cyprus was to pay €22,000 euros for each applicant in respect of nonpecuniary damage and €4,700 jointly in respect of costs and expenses.
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