Student arrested for leaving north Cyprus with someone else's passport: Tells court he has just one month left to live

An individual who traveled out of north Cyprus using the identity of another has been detained by Turkish Cypriot police after he was returned back to north Cyprus for impersonation.

The suspect named only as O.T, an international student in north Cyprus was arrested on his return to north Cyprus and brought to court on Thursday on charges of “impersonation and obtaining records by fraud”.

Police in a statement said that the suspect at around 10:00am on Tuesday October 1 departed Ercan Airport to Istanbul using a passport belonging to another.

Police said the suspect was identified by immigration officers at Istanbul New Airport on the same day, and the passport in question was confiscated and handed over to the TRNC Police.

Police stated that the suspect had presented a Gambian Passport issued in the name of Gambian national K**** J***** to the immigration officer on duty at Ercan Airport.

Police said the suspect in a voluntary statement obtained at around 8:00am on the same day confessed to committing the same crimes when he presented the same passport to the immigration officer on duty at the Beyarmudu crossing point with south Cyprus while entering the north of Cyprus.

The suspect also admitted to coming to the country in 2017 and crossing into the south illegally for a few months.

The police officer stated that the investigation was completed and requested that the suspect be sent to prison for a period not exceeding 2 months.

Speaking in court, the suspect said that he had a tumor in his body, that he had one month left to live, and that he wanted to go to his country.

The judge ordered that the suspect be sent to prison for a period not exceeding one month, and that he be examined by a doctor at a fully equipped state hospital beforehand.