Legal fees and healthcare costs for those affected by the sinking of a passenger ferry off the coast of Kyrenia last month will be waived by the Turkish Cypriot authorities, ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel announced on Sunday.
He explained that legal support will be offered to victims through the Cyprus Turkish bar association, which had on Friday published a list of lawyers who would be willing to offer their services to those impacted by the ferry disaster free of charge.
Additionally, he said, “court fees, levies, stamp duties, and other judicial processing costs will be waived for lawsuits arising from the incident”, while at the same time, “eligible foreign nationals will have free access to public healthcare services until August 30, 2027”, the one-year anniversary of the accident.
The matter of free healthcare being offered to foreign nationals comes with the majority of those impacted by the incident, including 14 of the 15 people confirmed dead so far and 12 of the 13 people who remain unaccounted for, being Turkish nationals.
As such, Ustel also said that the Turkish Cypriot authorities will facilitate the acquisition of temporary residence permits for those who survived the incident and the families of the dead and the missing, “so as to enable them to follow the proceedings” in court.
“Our people, who are enduring this immense grief, will not make the people who are already bearing the burden of grief bear the financial burden of justice,” he said, before adding of the facilitation of residence permits that “no family will be forced to return to their home country and follow their case from thousands of kilometres away”.
He stressed that “they will remain here, appear in court when necessary, and be able to follow the process in person”.
“We have stood by our people from day one. Now, we stand by them in our legal battles, residency processes, and healthcare needs. The state is not merely an entity which knocks on doors the day a disaster strikes, it is one which walks alongside its people until the consequences of that pain are resolved,” he said.
15 confirmed dead, 15 still missing three weeks on
He went on to say that the authorities are “continuing our efforts to locate those who are missing”, as well as “addressing the legal, administrative, and healthcare-related needs arising from the tragedy one by one”.
“Just as we stood by the families on the first day, we will continue to stand by them until the very end. Those responsible will certainly be held accountable before the judiciary,” he said.
The bar association’s list of lawyers comprised Asli Murat, Aybike Tamara Enguzel, Berk Cetinbas, Burcin Kahya, Cemre Ipciler, Cilem Duruster, Damla Deveci, Dilber Demir, Eda Asan, Emete Bagcioglulari, Esra Lekesiz Karabacak, Gokce Tara Enguzel, Gorkem Kaptan, Gulistan Celebi, Hatice Sekerci, Hayat Keskin, Kaan Guder, Kader Bal, Meltem Kansu, Meral Birinci Sonan, Merve Demir, Meryem Uygar, Mine Atli, Mustafa Ersan Kalinci, Mustafa Sener, Oyku Akcan, Selin Reis, Seval Dandil, Suna Amca, Serife Transturk, Tekin Soylemez, and Ulas Sabanci.
The ferry capsized shortly after leaving the new port of Kyrenia en route to the Turkish port of Tasucu at a little after midday on August 30, with 259 passengers and eight crew members on board. A total of 15 people are confirmed to have died as a result of the accident, while 13 remain missing.
All eight members of the boat’s crew, including its captain, Mustafa Oz, were arrested on the day of the disaster, and all eight, as well as a director of the ferry’s operating company, Filo Denizcilik, remain in custody.
They most recently appeared in court on Friday, where a police representative said that after a crack in the boat was noticed in June, it only underwent “superficial” repairs.
Previously, it had been said in court that the captain Oz had bought his Honduran captain’s licence for $3,500. A police representative said at the time that Oz had said under questioning that he had initially obtained a licence in Turkey, but that it had become invalid after he did not work as a boat captain for 10 years.
The Cyprus Mail has contacted Honduras’ directorate-general of merchant maritime in an attempt to verify the authenticity of the licence.
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