On Thursday, the “military court” in occupied Nicosia on Thursday on each of the two young people who had been “arrested” by the occupying authorities on Sunday at the Astromeritis checkpoint while leaving the occupied territories. The two, a 19-year-old boy and a 19-year-old girl, had crossed into the occupied territories via the Pyrgos Tylliria checkpoint earlier that same day. They had been placed in three-day detention and appeared today before a “military court.”

According to reports from the occupied territories, during today’s proceedings, the two young men admitted to the charges of “trespassing in a military zone” and entering the pseudo-state without undergoing the required security check on July 12. According to their lawyer,their lawyer, Oncel Polilli, they cooperated after their arrest at the Astromeritis roadblock by voluntarily providing statements.

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Their lawyer said that this was the first time the young men had crossed into the occupied territories on their own; they have no experience with the procedure, and that at the Turkish Cypriot checkpoint at the Pyrgos Tylliria roadblock, they saw the vehicle ahead of them drive through and assumed they could also pass without being checked. According to Mr. Polilli, they had no intention of committing any offense, and he cited past examples of similar incidents at crossing points.

The “judge” of the “court-martial” found the two guilty of the charges they face, which—he said—he considers serious, but noted that in reaching a decision, the circumstances under which an offense is committed must be taken into account, as he pointed out. According to him, it is clear that this was a case of negligence, as evidenced by the fact that they passed through the checkpoint unchecked but then attempted to exit via the Astromeritis roadblock. For this reason, he said, he did not impose a prison sentence but rather a fine of 500 TL for each of them.

The two were subsequently released and are expected to return to the free areas later today.

Source: CNA