Former ‘prime minister’ in north released on bail

Former Turkish Cypriot ‘prime minister’ Sibel Siber was released on bail on Monday after having been arrested as part of the ongoing ‘fake prescription’ scandal on Thursday.

The exact amount of her bail is not yet known.

Siber, a medical doctor, was initially arrested on Thursday alongside a pharmacist, accused of having written multiple fraudulent prescriptions.

She first appeared in court on Friday, where she was remanded in custody for three days. She has now been released on bail subject to a trial.

She is one of over 40 doctors and pharmacists who have been arrested in relation to the scandal, while police have also found numerous bin bags across the north full of prescription medications with their barcodes scrubbed off.

Arrests relating to the scandal have become a daily occurrence in the north in recent weeks, with Siber the most high-profile figure arrested so far.

She served as the north’s first female ‘prime minister’ between June and September 2013, before spending just over four years as ‘parliament speaker’ between 2013 and 2018.

In 2015, she became the first woman to run for Turkish Cypriot leader, winning the nomination of political party CTP, finishing in third place and winning 23 per cent of the vote.