A second Syrian man has been released by the Supreme Court after being held for seven months, it emerged on Tuesday.

The man had initially been detained “as a danger to national security and public order in the Republic of Cyprus” and was awaiting deportation. However, he was released because, from November 2023 until August 12, 2024, his application for international protection status had not been examined, prompting the court to issue a writ of habeas corpus.

Although the detention order was upheld by the administrative court for international protection, Supreme Court Judge, G. N. Yasemis, accepted the man’s application and ordered his release, noting that for more than seven months, his request for international protection had gone unexamined and without response.

In the court’s decision, it was noted that the affidavit from the competent authority (the Immigration Department) did not indicate that any examination of the applicant’s case had taken place since he submitted his application on November 10, 2023.

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The judge added there is no mention of any action having been taken in this direction, with the result that his detention has lasted for the time mentioned above and it is uncertain for how much longer, in the circumstances established above.

“In the present case, what has been reported by the competent authority in relation to the examination of the applicant’s application for international protection and, consequently, the duration of his detention, is characterised by generalities and vagueness,” the judge ruled.  

Just a few days ago, another Syrian man was released on a writ of habeas corpus after being detained for 18 months. He had also been held as a threat to public order, with the intention of deporting him. However, the judge ruled that the authorities had failed to take timely action.

Judge Ioannis Ioannides, issuing a decree for the release of man, was particularly scathing about the prolonged inaction of the competent authorities of the Republic.

“In this case, given the intention of the competent authorities of the Republic of Cyprus to deport the applicant, whom they consider dangerous to national security and public order, whether or not he enjoys international protection, they have not taken any action to promote or prolong his expulsion pending his detention.”

The judge further noted that, for a significant period, the authorities had neither taken nor were taking any steps to obtain travel documents necessary for the applicant’s deportation.

The Syrian man had been detained since January 23, 2023, after previously being found guilty of participating in a “terrorist training camp” in January 2021, for which he served a two-year prison sentence. The Limassol court ruled him guilty of the crime on January 17, 2023.

Since that time, the judged determined that the man had been unlawfully denied his freedom and the state had not followed any of the proper procedures for his deportation. Consequently, the court granted him the writ of habeas corpus and ordered his release.