Police repatriate migrants to Lebanon

The Police have a special permit for the boat used in the operation to repatriate migrants to Lebanon, according to Christos Andreou, the spokesperson for the Cyprus Police, who stated this to CNA. He emphasized that the police officers who participated in the operation returned to Cyprus "safe and unharmed" on Monday morning.

Initially, Mr. Andreou, responding to statements from the "EQUALITY" Police Union, explained that the Police have an exceptional permit issued by the Ministry of Shipping for this specific boat used in the operation to repatriate rescued migrants to Lebanon. The permit is valid from May 1, 2023, to October 31, 2023, he added.

Furthermore, the Police spokesperson referred to it as a "challenging operation." He highlighted to CYBC that "the Police leadership acknowledges the difficulties of this particular mission, where the officers were duty-bound to travel with this vessel to another country under specific weather conditions."

"We had to use this specific boat out of necessity since it was authorized. It was a political decision that we had to implement as the Police," said Mr. Andreou.

He also noted that "the boat, along with the colleagues and crew, as well as the accompanying police officer from the Port Police, returned to Cyprus today morning, safe and unharmed."

"The main concern of the Police leadership is the safety of our members, and only then do we proceed with any other action," emphasized the Police spokesperson. "Police operations are not all easy. Most of them are difficult. Police officers face certain risks," he added.

"The specific operation was successful. All our colleagues returned safe and unharmed. There were no issues, following the given instructions," concluded Mr. Andreou.