Two of the three Turkish Cypriots who were declared wanted by the Republic of Cyprus’ police in relation to the shooting of a 24-year-old Pakistani national on Wednesday publicly denied all wrongdoing and any links to the case.
The man was found dead in the Nicosia suburb of Strovolos on January 6, but was among a group of third-country nationals attempting to cross the buffer zone in the village of Potamia during an incident in which police said they fired four shots at two vehicles.
It is not yet known how he was taken from Potamia to Strovolos.
On Wednesday, the police announced the arrest of a 39-year-old Cameroonian national and named three Turkish Cypriot men as suspects: 62-year-old Halil Alaslan, 31-year-old Coskun Alaslan, and 22-year-old Atilla Alaslan, all of whom hail from Potamia’s neighbouring village of Louroujina, which is located in the north.
The trio are wanted in relation to what the police have described as an attempted murder, aiding and abetting an illegal entry into the Republic of Cyprus, and other crimes.
However, Coskun Alaslan was quick to deny any wrongdoing, telling newspaper Yeni Duzen on Wednesday he had nothing to do with the incident.
“I do not know the Pakistani national who was killed. We have been in pain all day. Do I control a Louroujina crossing point? How do I know who is coming in and going out of the village? I am staying in the village of Mora anyway,” he said.
He added that on January 6, he was in the eastern Nicosia suburb of Mia Milia with his wife and criticised the media for their willingness to run the story.
“I do not accept the accusation. The Cypriot press should have asked the [Turkish Cypriot] police before reporting this. If it were true, the police would have taken me into custody directly. If such an incident happened, the police know me, they would have taken me from my home directly,” he said.
It is not untrue that the police know Coskun Alaslan, given that he has been arrested by the Turkish Cypriot police on a number of previous occasions, including in 2013 for having stolen a vertical panel saw from a Greek Cypriot business in the nearby town of Athienou.
He was also arrested in 2020 after attempting to smuggle four Nigerian nationals to the Republic in the back of his van.
On Wednesday, also pointed out the impact the situation may have on his family, saying that his three children may be asked about the incident in school.
He also pointed out the impact the situation may have on his family, saying that his three children may be asked about the incident in school.
His father Halil Alaslan accused the Republic’s police of “slandering us” in an interview with news website Giynik, and said they had travelled to a Turkish Cypriot police station in the Nicosia district village of Trachoni to find out what was going on.

Additionally, Coskun Alaslan told Yeni Duzen the Republic’s police had personally targeted him due to an incident which had occurred in 2012, wherein Greek Cypriot policemen had crossed the Green Line into Louroujina to chase him but were themselves arrested by the Turkish Cypriot police.
“In 2012, the Greek Cypriot police went after me in my field. That is why they have a grudge against me, because we had three Greek Cypriot police officers caught in the north,” he said.
In that incident, three Greek Cypriot officers had given chase Alaslan, then 19, after he had allegedly failed to stop when requested. He drove into Louroujina and was pursued by them to his house, before the Turkish Cypriot police became aware of the situation and arrested their counterparts.
They appeared in court the following day and were eventually released in a move facilitated by the United Nations peacekeeping force in Cyprus (Unficyp).
Then-Turkish Cypriot leader Dervish Eroglu had stressed that due process was followed, saying there could be “nothing more natural” than the arrest of the trio.
“They violated a military zone, entered the Turkish zone with guns on their hips, and tried to beat our own people in our own land. Under these conditions, this is of course a state of law and a separate state and land from the south.
“Therefore, whoever enters out land and violates a military zone, even if they are police officers from the south, will be referred to our judiciary, and there is nothing more natural than that.”
Then-President Demetris Christofias was less than impressed, however, describing the officers’ arrest as “unacceptable”.
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