in-cyprus 24 April 2025
The Cyprus Port and Marine Police has been accused of forcibly returning approximately 80 Syrian refugees seeking asylum back to Syria, in what the non-governmental organisation Alarm Phone describes as an illegal pushback operation at sea on March 13.
Survivors told migrant hotline Alarm Phone they were intercepted in Cypriot territorial waters after fleeing sectarian violence in Syria, only to be towed back towards Lebanese and Syrian waters despite requesting asylum.
“We were in Cypriot territorial waters around 16:00 UTC+3 of March 13. A helicopter spotted us and after one hour, the Cyprus Port and Marine Police arrived, including a translator,” one survivor told Alarm Phone.
“I requested asylum for myself and my sons and explained that we were fleeing a sectarian war in Syria, where we face daily oppression and violations of our freedoms. I told them that I am a member of a minority group that is targeted by sectarian violence,” the survivor added.
According to accounts provided to Alarm Phone, the refugees were travelling on two boats – one carrying approximately 36 people and another with about 50 people – when they were intercepted by Port and Marine Police vessels, including one identified as Port and Marine Police vessel PV20.
Video evidence shared with Alarm Phone shows a helicopter circling above one of the boats. The metadata indicated the location as 34°46’25.7″N 34°30’04.7″E, with the boats continuing towards Cyprus for another hour before being stopped.
After several hours of being held at sea, survivors reported that a translator informed them Cyprus “will not help” them.
They were provided with water bottles with labels removed, life vests and fuel before being towed away and abandoned “probably somewhere at the borderline between Lebanese and Syrian waters,” according to Alarm Phone’s statement.
The organisation said the refugees later encountered the Lebanese Coast Guard, who offered assistance, but the refugees declined, fearing they would be handed over to the “New Syrian Coast Guard” under the current Syrian regime.
“If we were handed over to Syrian authorities, we would be treated as ‘remnants of the fallen regime’, regardless of our stance towards the previous regime. It would have been our death sentence,” survivors told Alarm Phone.
The refugees eventually reached land on their own and “continue to live in fear of attacks,” the statement said.
Alarm Phone claims Cypriot authorities provided misleading information when contacted about the refugees. On March 14, officers allegedly told the organisation that people from three groups of arrivals had been taken to a camp on the island, which later proved incorrect.
The refugee hotline condemned what it called “unlawful practices” and demanded clarification from Cypriot authorities, adding that “Lebanon and Syria remain unsafe places for people on the move, and no person should be forced back to any country they try to escape from”.
What is a pushback
The term “pushback” refers to measures taken by states to forcibly return migrants, including asylum seekers, to the country from which they attempted to cross or have crossed an international border, without access to international protection or asylum procedures, or without any individual assessment of their protection needs.
Such actions often violate international laws, including the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits returning individuals to countries where they may face persecution. Pushbacks can occur both at land and sea borders.
Cyprus accused of pushbacks
Cyprus has faced accusations of conducting pushbacks against migrants and asylum seekers. In July 2024, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that Cypriot authorities forcibly removed 25 migrants from government-controlled areas to the buffer zone, denying them access to asylum procedures. The Cypriot government denied these allegations, asserting that no such pushbacks occurred.
Additionally, in October 2024, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Cyprus violated the rights of two Syrian asylum seekers by preventing them from applying for asylum and returning them to Lebanon without processing their claims. The court found this action amounted to degrading treatment.
