The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the release of a 28-year-old Syrian man who filed a second habeas corpus application after being re-arrested immediately following a previous decision for his release.
A writ of habeas corpus is used to bring a prisoner or other detainee before the court to determine if the person’s imprisonment or detention is lawful.
According to the court’s decision, this is the second habeas corpus application filed by the man within two months. He arrived in Cyprus illegally in February 2017 and applied for international protection a few days later. One year after that, on June 6, 2018, he was granted subsidiary protection status.
Since February 21, 2023, the man has been in continuous detention on grounds of national security and public order.
He had been sentenced to two years in prison on January 23, 2023, after being convicted of attending training to commit terrorist offences, an act he committed in 2021. He remained in detention until his conviction and subsequent sentencing.
Despite serving his sentence, the man continued to be detained under the same national security grounds from February 21, 2023 onwards.
In his first habeas corpus application, a Supreme Court judge found that his detention, which had exceeded 18 months, was unjustified. On August 7 this year, the court approved his release.
However, the man was not released despite the court’s ruling.
According to the judge, the relevant authorities, anticipating the court’s decision, issued new detention and deportation warrants on July 24. The new detention warrant was executed immediately after the court’s decision was known, keeping the man in custody.
The judge questioned the justification for the new detention warrant, adding that there appeared to be no significant change in circumstances to warrant issuing a new order for deportation.
Given this, the court ordered the man’s immediate release.
