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The Administrative Court of Appeal in Cyprus has upheld the detention of an Iranian national seeking international protection, reversing a lower court’s earlier ruling that had ordered his release.
The court’s unanimous decision, issued on September 25, 2025, sided with the Attorney General, who argued that the man posed a continued threat to public order and security.
According to the Legal Service, the Iranian first arrived in Cyprus in 2000 with a temporary visitor permit. In 2005, he submitted an asylum application using false information, which was rejected. He was later arrested under a false name for illegal entry through the occupied Tympos airport and served a prison sentence.
Over the years, the man repeatedly re-entered Cyprus illegally, including through occupied territories. Between 2013 and 2015, he faced multiple arrests and convictions for illegal residence, drug possession and use, and assaulting law enforcement officers. He was deported more than once, but returned illegally each time.
In 2024, after serving his most recent sentence, the man submitted another asylum application, which was rejected. He appealed his detention to the Administrative Court of International Protection, which ordered his release, arguing that his prior convictions had already been served and that authorities had not applied the principle of necessity and proportionality in ordering detention.
The Appeals Court disagreed. In its ruling, judges noted the serious and repeated nature of his offenses over 25 years, his history of illegal entry, and his behavior in Cyprus, concluding that authorities were justified in considering him a threat to public order. The court emphasized that continuing detention under different legal frameworks, from the Aliens and Immigration Law to the Refugee Law, does not undermine the government’s duty to monitor the individual circumstances of detention.
The court also cited previous Supreme Court cases holding that both European citizens and third-country nationals may be detained or deported if deemed a risk to public order and security. Costs were awarded in favor of the Republic.
The ruling ensures that the Iranian national remains in detention as Cyprus authorities continue to process his case.
