Over 800 people from 35 different countries languishing in north Cyprus prison: Over 6000 people benefited from last amnesty

There are over 800 people from 35 different countries in prisons in north Cyprus said the TRNC Minister of Internal Affairs Dursun Oğuz.

Dursun Oğuz made the revelation at the weekend while addressing the ‘parliamentary’ finance committee, where his ‘ministry’s’ budget was being deliberated.

During the budget discussions, Interior Minister Dursun Oğuz responded to deputies’ questions. He said there are 840 inmates in the central prison from 35 different countries. He added that there are a total of 51 women from 15 countries and a total of 17 people under the age of 21 years old in prison in the north.

He also noted that there are no inmates under the age of 14.

This figure has fallen from the total of more than 1,000 which was reported by Cyprus Turkish civil servants’ trade union (Ktams) leader Guven Bengihan in July.

He said at the time that there were an exact total of 1,050 currently inside, despite the prison’s stated capacity of 625 inmates.

With this in mind, he said “the workload of the 275 prison guards has increased”, and that they were being “constantly called to work” and being asked to work overtime.

He had added that the root cause of the problem is the number of third country nationals being employed illegally in the country.

“The prison is overflowing because the country is being treated like an inn and is telling people, ‘don’t ask, just come in’,” he said.

He added that the flow of migrants into the TRNC is “causing serious social and criminal problems”.

“People coming from African countries in particular enter the country for the purpose of working illegally. They usually come to the country through the universities,” he added.

Oğuz further revealed that approximately 7,000 people applied for the immigration amnesty, of which 6,000 benefited from it, providing detailed figures. He emphasized that the goal of the amnesty was to register individuals and explained that police are conducting active inspections. In 2024, approximately 1,800 individuals were deported from the country.

“No one can enter the country casually,” Oğuz stated, sharing information about the number and nationality of individuals denied entry.

Oğuz stressed the government’s commitment to maintaining the “safe country” status of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and elaborated on the initiatives undertaken in this regard.

Additionally, Oğuz announced the establishment of a Real Estate Commission Unit within the Ministry of Interior, noting that approximately 1,596 cases were reviewed in 2024.