Greek man who shouted “Cyprus, Russia, and Greece are brothers! Turks out! arrested for second time after entering military base

A Greek national who was deported from north Cyprus for shouting "Cyprus, Russia and Greece are brothers" and Turks out while trying to punch a woman appeared in court in north Cyprus again on Thursday following his arrest for entering a Turkish military restricted area.

Theodoros Lazariotis, 34 who had appeared in a court in north Cyprus on Monday apologising for an anti-Turkish rant following a 3-day detention. He was given “a second chance” by the judge on Monday and released.

He was arrested again on Wednesday, January, 24 after entering a Turkish military restricted area.

He was taken to a military court on Thursday for violating a military forbidden zone..

Police told the court that the man re-entered the north at around 3.30pm on Wednesday, before being found later that afternoon by soldiers on duty in a restricted area in the Lefkosia neighbourhood of Caglayan.

Police also confirmed that a letter had been written requesting that he be declared persona non grata in the north.

Wednesday’s arrest was his second in six days, having been apprehended on Lefkosia’s central Arasta street after approaching a woman, asking where she was from, and attempting to punch her while shouting “Cyprus, Russia, and Greece are brothers! Turks out! This is Greece!”

The court ordered him to remain behind bars for two months until trial. In addition to being held in custody for two months, the man will also be taken to the Baris Mental and Neurological Diseases hospital for examinations.