Filenews 22 December 2025 - by Fanis Makridis
The negative turn of the case of the Iranian Behdad Jafari, suspected of large-scale usurpation of Cypriot properties in the occupied territories, is at the center of parliamentary scrutiny.
As it is known, a French Court called to examine the extradition of the 39-year-old to the Republic of Cyprus, decided to release the 39-year-old. The MP of the Famagusta constituency, Nikos Georgiou, sent last Friday a two-page letter to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Justice, Konstantinos Kombos and Kostas Fytiris, respectively.
After first pointing out the legal aspects of the issue, but also the serious ramifications, which touch on our national problem, he asks the two state officials for an answer to six questions. It is clear that the DISY MP seeks to determine whether there may have been mishandling by the Cypriot side.
It is characteristic that in the fifth question submitted by Mr. Georgiou, he asks to know "what assistance and support the Republic of Cyprus provided to the French Prosecutor's Office in order to achieve a successful outcome of the case".
It should be noted here that the Court of Provence concluded that it cannot extradite him because European law does not apply and does not apply in an area in which the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise effective control.
The decision, in fact, as revealed by "F" on the basis of well-informed sources, is "charged" with errors of the French prosecutor's office, which did not adequately promote the case.
With the rest of his questions, the MP attempts to get confirmation of what was broadcast in the Cypriot press (exact reasoning of the verdict, etc.), while he wants to find out what actions are being taken by the Republic after the negative data, but also if there is an intention to take measures to avoid identical phenomena.
The following questions of the MP are indicative:
>> Has any legal measure or any other legal action been brought or intends to bring against this decision and at what stage is the relevant procedure?
>> How does the Government assess the fact that, according to the reports, settled European case law, including the Apostolidis case, was not taken into account?
>> What initiatives does the Republic of Cyprus intend to take to prevent similar developments in the future and to effectively tackle the usurpation of Greek Cypriot property?
Mr. Georgiou in his letter states that it is important to answer the above, citing "the seriousness of the case and especially its wider legal and political implications, as well as the risk of creating dangerous precedents to the detriment of the rights of the Republic of Cyprus and the owners of the occupied properties".
We remind you that as "F" revealed last Friday, efforts were in full swing on the part of the Republic of Cyprus to overturn the negative data created in the case of Jafari. We pointed out that a series of actions had been taken in order to overturn the verdict of the French Court. The efforts were addressed to the French Public Prosecutor's Office with the aim of appealing the decision, which takes on a political dimension.
The operation to challenge this verdict in the second instance is of political importance for the Republic. After all, Jafari has already gone to the occupied territories through Istanbul. As it is understood, therefore, the goal now is to overturn the decision of the French Court, which is not at all helpful as far as our national problem is concerned.
It should be noted that the 39-year-old was born in Tehran, while he lived permanently in Nice, France. Data available to the Authorities of the Republic indicate that the interest company of ISATIS Construction Group erected six (6) tourist complexes and an apartment building in Famagusta. All developments are on land owned by Greek Cypriots.
