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A Syrian asylum seeker detained for over a year was ordered released by Cyprus' Supreme Court on Wednesday, citing unjustified and prolonged detention without a clear path to deportation.
The 26-year-old man, who applied for asylum in March 2024 after entering the Republic of Cyprus through the occupied north, had remained in custody despite no deportation order being issued. His wife, who holds complementary protection, and their minor child live in the Nicosia district.
Authorities argued that he posed a threat to national security and sought his deportation, but the Supreme Court found his continued detention unconstitutional, especially as his asylum application remains pending.
The ruling followed a Habeas Corpus petition filed by his legal team, who claimed the man’s yearlong detention violated his fundamental right to freedom, particularly in the absence of progress in either his asylum case or deportation proceedings.
While the Attorney General’s office alleged the applicant failed to cooperate with repatriation efforts, the court rejected this claim, emphasizing that asylum seekers cannot be penalized for resisting deportation when their protection requests are still unresolved.
Judge Ioannis Ioannidis, who authored the decision, noted that without the court's intervention, the applicant faced indefinite detention with no realistic prospect of removal from the country. The court concluded that the government's vague justifications and inaction rendered the detention illegal.
The Supreme Court approved the Habeas Corpus request and ordered the applicant’s immediate release.
