Cidan murder to be raised during upcoming meeting of Cyprob negotiators

Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar said on Friday his negotiator Ergun Olgun would meet with Greek Cypriot negotiator Menelaos Menelaou next Thursday over the murder of Turkish Cypriot inmate Tansu Cidan, 41 on October 27.

After being criticised by the family for not supporting them in their efforts to gain justice for their son’s death, Tatar met with the Cidan family earlier in the day.

He told them that Olgun would be discussing the issue with Menelaou next Thursday, that measures were being taken to the bicommunal technical committee on crime, and that other diplomatic and political initiatives were being made.

On Thursday, Cidan’s mother, Ilmiye said that the  ‘government’ failed to do anything to show support for her family’s suffering over her son’s death.

She claims that her son was abused prior to his death.

A total of 14 people have been arrested in connection with the case, some of whom are prisoners and some reportedly guards – with the 35-year-old’s arrest on Sunday raising the total to 15. Cidan’s post-mortem showed he had been beaten to death.

However, in 2016 when a Briton holidaying in Ayia Napa was murdered by Turkish national Mehmet Akpinar and Bulgarian national Salih Ahmet, who crossed illegally from the north and fled back, the breakaway regime failed to turn the suspects over to face justice.

In a Sky News report back in February, it was reported that the two suspects for the murder of George Low were thought to be hiding in Turkey and one of them appeared to have been using social media to threaten and taunt George’s best friend, who survived the pub stabbing six years ago.

In 2017, Cyprus police again requested the authorities in the north hand over one of the prime suspects for the murder.

Arrest warrants issued by Cyprus police for the two men are still outstanding, with authorities in the north refusing to hand over the two fugitives despite reports that the two had admitted to their involvement in the killing. The two suspects were reportedly allowed to leave the north after their release without being charged.

The only charge the two faced in the north was at a Turkish military court, which was for illegally trespassing into a military zone, but not the murder.