European Court finds Turkey guilty of murder of two Cypriots

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Cyprus Action Network of America (CANA) applauded the decision by the European Court of Human Rights, which found Turkey guilty in the two cases of Cypriot demonstrators murdered in 1996, the CANA told PanARMENIAN.Net



"The murderers … must pay for their crimes! We cannot forget! We will not forget! Justice for Issak and Solomou! Justice for Cyprus!" the CANA statement says.



Anastasios Isaak was lynched by a mob of Turkish soldiers and Turkish Cypriot "policemen" and other Turkish and Turkish Cypriot extremists belonging to a nationalist group called "Grey Wolves". It happened in the buffer zone separating the Turkish army occupied northern part of Cyprus from the southern part of the island.



Solomos Solomou was shot dead at short range, by Turkish soldiers when he attempted to climb up a Turkish flag pole in the buffer zone.

The Court unanimously ruled that Ankara is guilty of violating Article 2 (right to life) of the European Convention on Human Rights in respect of the killing of Anastasios Isaak and Solomos Solomou.



The Court also ruled that Turkey is guilty of violating Article 2 in respect of the failure to conduct ineffective investigation into the circumstances in which Anastasios Isaak and Solomos Solomou were killed.



Under Article 41 (just satisfaction) of the Convention, the Court awarded 80,000 euro to Anastasios Isaak's widow for pecuniary damage. In respect of non-pecuniary damage, the Court awarded 35,000 euro each to Anastasios Isaak's widow, his parents, and to Solomos Solomou's father, and also 15,000 euro to each of Anastasios Isaak's and Solomos Solomou's siblings. The applicants in both cases were also awarded 12,000 for costs and expenses.



The two applications were filed to the Court by the families of Tasos Isaak and Solomou Solomou, both of whom were murdered by Turkish or Turkish Cypriots during demonstrations in 1996.