Filenews 17 November 2023
Dozens of cases, mainly irregular migrants, have recently been scanned for possible terrorism by the Task Force set up after the Israeli-Hamas war.
According to data obtained by "F", by the end of September 368 suspicious persons, all foreigners, had been assessed for possible involvement in terrorist organizations or planning unlawful acts. At the same time, due to the emergency measures to prevent terrorism taken after the Hamas strike in Israel, the need for increased overtime arose with the Police requesting an additional budget of more than €15 million.
The Police, according to the data, constantly take measures to prevent terrorist attacks, while participating in actions taken for this purpose at European level, such as exchanging information and implementing control measures in critical infrastructure. In addition, increased measures are being taken for the security of the citizen. Regarding the issue of the terrorist threat, Cyprus, according to the Police, is classified as a moderate risk country.
For the purpose of preventing terrorism, additional actions are being taken, especially after the war in Gaza. These include the following:
- The Handling Protocol on arrival of irregular migrants and checks in cases of signs of terrorism are applied.
• An Assessment Team for Suspected Foreigners on terrorism issues was established, consisting of members of the Office for Combating Terrorism, members of the Ministry of Defence, the Cyprus Defence Service and the Ministry of Defence and Defence Affairs, under the chairmanship of the Assistant Chief (Prevention and Combating of Crime). As of September this year, 368 assessments of suspicious persons had been carried out.
• 30 training sessions have been held until 09/2023/11, with 362 members of the Police participating. At the same time, due to the need for increased security measures taken in places of mass gatherings, measures taken in the context of preventing and combating crime, policing police sports meetings, preventing road traffic collisions, regulating illegal immigration issues, etc., requires increased overtime for members of the Force. Until 30/09/2023, €14.468.742 was spent, 272.99% of the total provision for overtime (€5.300.000). Additional appropriations of €15,355,000 were requested for the Police overtime team.
Also, the update of the Special National Plan for the Prevention of Terrorism (DEIMOS) by the Ministry of Justice and the Police is in progress and in 2024 various actions are planned, such as the independence of the Information Management and Analysis Service (YDAP) and the strengthening and strengthening of the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit of the MMAD.
