Filenews 19 August 2022 - by Evangelia Sizopoulou
The way in which a family of informal immigrants with a long and established stay in Cyprus is treated and the deportation of the father, caused the immediate intervention of the Commissioner for the Protection of the Rights of the Child, Despo Michailidou, who immediately made representations to the Minister of Interior, Nikos Nouris. This is because the development of the case concerns a family and affects a 15-year-old child.
Specifically, yesterday the Office of the Commissioner was informed by telephone by the 15-year-old that "without any information, the deportation of his father took place as 6-7 people presented themselves at the detention area of informal immigrants in Menogeia where he was being held, and with the use of handcuffs, an electronic bracelet in the leg and a sedative injection, they transported him to the airport where his deportation took place". At the same time, the deportation of the wife and child is also being prepared.
"The power of the state to exercise immigration control is respected but, as I have mentioned many times, it must be exercised in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, when they directly or indirectly affect children", notes Ms. Michailidou, emphasizing that this child was preceded by another intervention. In her letter to Nikos Nouris, the competent Commissioner reaffirms that the child was born in Cyprus and has strong social and educational ties in the country and therefore falls into the category of immigrants with a long and established stay in Cyprus.
Given the above, Mrs. Michailidou asks the Minister to give instructions for reconsidering the possibility of granting the child's father a special residence and work permit for humanitarian reasons and when making these decisions, to take special account of the right to family life, health, education so that he can complete his high school education in a language he possesses and in general in the interest of the 15-year-old.
YPES: Illegally residing in Cyprus since 2005
In its response, the Ministry of Interior notes:
"The couple entered the Republic of Cyprus illegally in 2005 and both their request for international protection and their appeal to the Refugee Review Authority, as well as their application to the Supreme Court for a privileged decree of a Habeas Corpus nature, were rejected. The couple during their illegal stay had a child. The family remained illegally in the country without taking any action to legalize their stay, despite the repeated opportunities and recommendations given to them in this regard. The opportunities given to them included the suspension of the father's detention on the condition that he takes all the necessary actions for the voluntary repatriation of the family, which he did not do at any stage of their long illegal stay. Taking into account the facts, all the negative decisions of the administrative bodies and the best interests of the child, the Ministry of Interior took care of the issuance of the necessary travel documents for all family members, so that everyone can leave the Republic to return to their country of origin".
