Newsroom
A Nicosia court on Friday ordered a three-day detention for 30-year-old Cenk Tosunoglu, the son of Turkish Cypriot independent MP Hasan Tosunoglu, who was arrested Thursday at the Agios Dometios checkpoint on suspicion of offenses related to child pornography.
Police said the detention order would allow further questioning. The suspect did not contest the detention and indicated his willingness to cooperate. Authorities said the arrest followed a warrant issued by German authorities, based on an investigation by the Bavarian state cybercrime unit.
If investigators do not gather enough evidence by Monday, the suspect is expected to be released. If sufficient evidence emerges, authorities could request an extension of his detention.
His father, Hasan Tosunoglu, strongly denied any wrongdoing and claimed the arrest is politically motivated. In social media posts circulated after the arrest, he described the reports as “horrible misinformation” and “slander,” accusing the Greek Cypriot justice system of bias. He also suggested a possible link between the arrest and his past work on a controversial two-state law proposal in the Turkish Cypriot parliament.
Cyprus Police stressed the arrest is part of an ongoing child pornography investigation, while earlier reports suggested Europol involvement. Hasan Tosunoglu criticized those reports as misleading and politically charged.
He added that his son is innocent and urged the public to respect the presumption of innocence. “An examination of his computer would easily reveal his innocence,” he said, calling the case an attempt at “character assassination.”
