Syrian family of four arrested for entering north Cyprus illegally

A Syrian family of four who entered north Cyprus from south Cyprus illegally were arrested by Turkish Cypriot police.

The family consists of a 27-year-old man named A.H, an 18-year-old woman named S.E who is eight months pregnant, and two children, aged four and one.

They all entered north Cyprus from south Cyprus through the buffer zone at around 1:00am on Sunday August 25 crossing the Green Line illegally near the Ledra Palace hotel in Lefkosia.

They were brought before the Lefkosa district court on Sunday, while the two children were taken care of by the social services department.

Police told the court the family’s route into north Cyprus “would be examined”. The reasons for the family’s decision to travel to the north were not discussed.

The judge ordered that the man be remanded in custody for three days, and that the woman be held at a student dormitory for the same period of time.

Meanwhile, an hour after the family of four had illegally crossed the buffer zone into north Cyprus, another Syrian national did the same.