All five Greek Cypriots who were arrested in the north last month now face charges of privacy violations, trespassing and breaching the peace, after appearing at the Trikomo district court on Thursday morning.

Those charges had initially only been levelled at two of the five Greek Cypriots, but on Thursday morning, all five were brought before the court in Trikomo.

According to newspaper Ozgur Gazete’s editor-in-chief Pinar Barut, who was present in court on Thursday, the court was informed that the case against all five is now ready and a trial can begin.

Defence lawyer Ugur Culhaoglu represented all five defendants and said that none of the five accepted the charges. He added that all five wish to be tried to prove their innocence, and that the defence is “ready” for a trial to begin.

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The prosecution said that cases against all five defendants regarding the charges of trespassing and breaching the peace were “ready”, but that the north’s chief public prosecutor’s office has not yet received a case file from the police regarding the charges of privacy violations.

This charge, they said, is “the most serious” of the three.

They then added that when the final file is submitted, all three charges can be combined into once case and a trial can begin.

Culhaoglu said it would be the defence’s preference for all the charges to be combined, and with both sides in agreement on this matter, judge Cigdem Guzeler adjourned the case until August 28.

Barut said the police are expected to submit the case file related to the charges of privacy violations before the next hearing, and the trial will be able to begin on that day.

Later on Thursday, the five Greek Cypriots are expected to reappear at the military court in northern Nicosia, where they face charges related to the allegation that one of the five entered the north illegally and the other four aided and abetted that alleged illegal entry.

With none of the five having admitted to the charges they face in that court, it is expected that a trial based on those charges will begin on Thursday afternoon.

In addition, the three Greek Cypriots – who were not until Thursday morning charged with privacy violations, trespassing, and breaching the peace – will be referred to the military court for a potential extension of their remand, given that they were not subject to the three-month remand handed down in Trikomo last month.

Their most recent remand is set to expire on Thursday, with the five having most recently appeared in military court on August 14.