The International Human Rights Court criticizes Cyprus for expelling two Syrian asylum-seekers
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has found Cyprus guilty of expelling two Syrian refugees to Lebanon sans asylum examination. The Strasbourg court condemned Cyprus for infringing upon the European Convention on Human Rights in four ways in the given situation.
Two Syrians hailing from Idlib fled to Lebanon due to the civil war in their homeland in 2016 and were housed in a refugee camp there. Later in 2020, these refugees, accompanied by two dozen others, used smugglers' aid to sail across the Mediterranean to Cyprus as the court detailed.
Their boat was intercepted by Cypriot authorities, who promptly deported the two Syrians back to Lebanon. According to the court's verdict, Cyprus did this "without evaluating their asylum petitions and without adhering to all the necessary measures prescribed by refugee law."
Moreover, the country disregarded in its investigation of the case the potential absence of a viable asylum procedure in Lebanon, along with the living conditions of the asylum seekers. Furthermore, Cyprus overlooked the likelihood of being forced back to Syria, where the two refugees could encounter persecution.
The court mandated Cyprus to pay each of the two claimants 22,000 euros in compensation, given that they, according to the court, still remain in Lebanon. In addition, Cyprus is expected to shoulder a total of 4,700 euros in costs incurred. The ECtHR was launched in 1959 in Strasbourg by the Council of Europe's member states to promote compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights, which was ratified in 1950.
The two Syrians, upon being deported, were not given the opportunity to submit [Applications for asylum]. Despite the dire living conditions and potential lack of a viable asylum procedure in Lebanon, Cyprus failed to consider these factors when making their decision, disregarding the [European Convention on Human Rights].
