Filenews 11 May 2022
There were 1,645 deportations of irregular migrants by April this year. At the same time, 10 cases of traffickers are being investigated, and five arrests were made during 2022. These are police data, which were presented yesterday to the ad hoc Committee of the House on demographics. During the discussion, the problems faced by the area of Kokkinotrimithia were mentioned, due to the proximity to the Pournara Reception Center. In fact, the deputy chief of police presented reinforced measures that were decided for the better guarding of this area.
On behalf of the commune of Kokkinotrimithia, Christakis Meletier, as well as residents of the area, the problems that concern them were raised, due to the large increase in the number of asylum seekers. The residents asked for greater assistance from the State to deal with the situation. In fact, Mr. Meleties said after the meeting that in the region "a parallel society is created with its own laws, with all its good and bad" and added that some incidents, such as illegalities and thefts, are noted with the tolerance of the services of the state. He said, however, that solutions must be found to manage migration flows, along the lines of other European countries.
He also said that residents may go ahead with protests outside the relevant ministries. When asked about the conditions at the Pournara Centre, Mr. Meleties said that an upgrade of a €20 million project is not considered an upgrade.but development of a new project "in an effort to cover more migrants, in the absence of the residents of the area", as he said, after mentioning that they were never informed about the intentions of the State.
The deputy chief of police, Dimitris Demetriou, referred to the strengthening of security measures in the area. As, he said, an officer has been appointed, who will be on a permanent basis at the Pournara Asylum Seekers Reception Center. The policing has been reinforced with patrols of the surrounding area, as well as the Kokkinotrimithia police station with additional personnel.
"The Police are investigating the cases where there are complaints," he said, adding that most of the incidents occur within the area of Pournara, where the Police intervene in an effort to restore order. "With the recruitment of 300 people for the purpose of guarding the green line and the construction of the fencing, the effort to prevent the entry of illegal immigrants from the occupied areas will be strengthened," he said, in response to a question, while clarifying that the guards will be discussed after the recruitment of the special guards, with the cooperation of the police and the ministry. Internal.
During the meeting, it was reported that the sentence for trafficking in irregular migrants, which is considered a felony and punishable by up to 14 years in prison, has been strengthened. According to the Police, most smugglers are from the migrants' countries of origin in Africa, while it was clarified that the same charges are faced by Cypriots who serve in the movement of people through the green line.
Police data indicate that about 80 to 100 people enter daily, while about 65 to 70 people are deported per week. In 2019 there were 417 deportations, in 2020 there were 1,272, in 2021 there were 2,320 and by April 2022 there were 1,645. Also on smugglers, 24 cases and 27 arrests were reported in 2020, another 29 cases and 50 arrests in 2021 and 10 cases and 5 arrests in 2022 so far.
The process of returning irregular migrants to their countries of origin was noted to present several difficulties, even after the government granted financial incentives for voluntary departure. In fact, there are also countries such as Pakistan, where mediation by Germany was needed in order to accept the people who returned there from Cyprus.
