The five Greek Cypriots who were arrested over alleged spying in the north on July 19 are set to appear before Trikomo court on Thursday as their trial proceedings resume.

Their appearance comes after the court had on July 23 approved the police’s request to continue the hearing of the five for another eight days.

According to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), the proceedings were conducted in a tense atmosphere, with the defence denouncing a blatant violation of human rights.

The prosecution continued to insist on its allegations of sensitive data collection, claiming that when entering the north on July 17 through the Strovilia crossing point, one of the five did not have their ID checked.

They were then spotted walking in a residential area near the village of Galatia, walking around with a blue folder, which “caused concern”. The prosecution alleged that the respective folder contained information about directors of construction companies in the north, as well as “personal data of property titles belonging to 14 Turkish Cypriots”, four of whom are alleged to have filed a complaint.

The defendants’ lawyer, Salih Can Doratli, refuted the allegations, describing the request for an eight-day detention as “shameful” and contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights.

He rejected that the argument any of the five had entered the north without being checked, stressing that all five had provided forms of identification and questioned “which law defines as an offence someone walking around with a blue folder”.

While he urgently requested clarifications on the nature of the alleged “personal data”, that is, whether these are official documents or handwritten notes, a question to which the police refused to answer.

He requested clarification on the nature of the alleged “personal data”, the five carried with them, asking whether these concerned official documents or handwritten notes, which the police refused to answer.

The group of five consists of three men aged 68, 66 and 60, and two women aged 63 and 60. The five were detained after allegedly entering a tourist resort in the Trikomo area without permission and were reportedly being investigated on suspicion of “espionage against Turkish properties”.