Cyprus-Forum.com

[YFred]

Our lovely roc justice system busy at work again, being their gentle self. Good old roc thank got for it's existance. What could we do without it?

A EUROPEAN Union national working in Cyprus claimed yesterday she was physically abused by the police while trying to register with the Limassol immigration office.

Police say it was she who assaulted the police officer, charging her with assault and causing a public disturbance.

The alleged incident happened in March.

Olga, a teacher, visited the immigration office in Limassol for registration on January 26, but the female officer there asked if she was married and told her to return with her husband who is also an EU national.

Olga returned to the immigration office with her husband on March 23 and the same female officer inquired about some documents from Nicosia.

The officer then sent Olga and her husband to talk to a senior officer.

The officer looked at Olga’s papers and asked her several questions about her work.

She said she answered the officer’s questions but there seemed to be a misunderstanding and Olga asked him to call her employer as they could explain everything in Greek.

According to Olga, the officer became “very angry.”

“Do you want me to destroy your papers?” the officer allegedly asked.

Olga replied that he had no right to do that but the officer allegedly tore the documents and threw them in her face.

Olga said this was unacceptable behaviour and “people who act like that cannot work in the immigration office.”

To this, the officer allegedly tried to attack Olga but her husband stood between them.

The couple left the office but then Olga decided to go back and retrieve her documents even if they were torn.

She asked the officer for her documents and he allegedly started to shout at her to get out of his office.

Olga repeated her request to which the officer, according to her, spat in her face and pushed her out of the room.

Olga fell and the officer allegedly started to beat and choke her while she tried to defend herself.

By doing so she scratched his face.

“When he started to choke me I scratched his face a little bit,” Olga said.

Other officers tried to restrain him while Olga collected her belongings from the floor in order to leave. But the officer shouted something at his colleagues and they grabbed Olga and allegedly cuffed her. She was held there for three hours, not even allowed to go to the toilet, Olga said.

Olga was then transferred to Polemidhia police station where she gave a statement and then taken to hospital for examination.

Olga spent the night at the Yermasoyia police station and was taken to court the next day.

Police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos said yesterday that an administrative investigation is looking into Olga’s complaint against the officer.

She will appear before a court to answer the charges against her later this month.

[YFred]

Is this normal in the other eu countries? DO eu nationals need to visit immigration office to be able to work? Or is this one of roc specials.

[Cap]

Obviously something along the lines of woman abuse? Or you just want to bash the ROC? I'm all for woman's rights, here's a sad story for you.


'Turkey fails in fighting violence against woman
Last week, a parliamentary deputy submitted a question motion demanding a response from the justice minister on why so many women who are victims of domestic violence are killed by their husbands or abusive lovers despite having applied to the police and prosecutors for protection several times.
Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Van deputy Fatma Kurtulan filed the motion, motivated by the violent death of nursery school teacher Saadet Ulus, who was killed in Ardahan’s Göle district by her stalker, Yalçın Algan, against whom she had filed complaints at the prosecutor’s office several times.

Algan (42), had become obsessed with Ulus (24), tracked her down to Ardahan, where she had been assigned for work, and butchered her with a cleaver for not reciprocating his feelings. It later came to light that Ulus had filed a complaint against her stalker while she was still living in İstanbul. Despite the complaint, Algan -- whose rap sheet includes stabbing a woman in 2004 and who was wanted for homicide -- was able to track her down and even rent a room at a hotel using a fake ID where he literally hunted her for a month.

Sadly, Ulus is not the only example where state authorities failed to save a woman’s life despite prior warning. She was laid to rest on March 13, one day after another violent incident in Adana, where Yasin İlbaş started knocking loudly on the door of his ex-wife, Cemile Seçil Sansür, and ex-mother-in-law Gülten Sansür’s (43) house, demanding to see the couple’s 18-month-old daughter. The two women called police, who came and left the scene, saying it was an “intra-family” matter. İlbaş returned about 30 minutes later with a gun and shot the two women. Cemile Seçil Sansür was severely injured, while Gülten Sansür died during the shooting. The family has sworn to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), blaming police negligence for the incident. On March 15, a butcher cut off the nose and ears of his pregnant wife, identified as Aysun K., in Bingöl in retaliation for Aysun complaining to the police of persistent domestic violence.

Turkey’s ECtHR conviction

Gökçe Kartaler, a volunteer from the Mor Çatı (Purple Roof) Women’ Shelter, says that although the laws in place are not bad, there are major problems in their implementation. Recalling that Turkey has been found guilty by the ECtHR of failing to protect its female citizens who have applied to authorities for protection from violence and abuse, Gökçe says new institutions that would extend the capacity of social service providers and security forces in the country should be formed.

“The state in Turkey cannot protect those women who apply to authorities for protection from violence. But in fact, ensuring the safety of women is the state’s duty according to the Constitution, the law and international agreements to which Turkey is a party.”

In June of last year, the ECtHR ruled for the first time in its history against a state for overlooking a domestic violence case. The court said that Turkey failed to sufficiently prosecute a man who abused his wife and murdered his mother-in-law. Nahide Opuz, the murdered woman’s daughter, has been pursuing the case since 1995, when her stepfather and husband began to beat her and threaten her mother. The Turkish police, however, repeatedly overlooked the case. When her husband finally stabbed and shot Nahide’s mother to death, his life sentence was reduced to a three-year term by a Turkish court on appeal. In its verdict, the ECtHR ruled that the Turkish court was guilty of “judicial passivity” in this case and had violated articles 2, 3, and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The judge required the Turkish state to pay $41,700 to Nahide in damages.

Social services units needed

Kartaler says that following Turkey’s conviction at the ECtHR, a protocol was signed between the Interior Ministry and the Ministry for Women and Family Affairs. However, there have been problems executing it. “According to the protocol, when a woman goes to a police station, the officers have to file records without demanding proof of violence. If the woman doesn’t want to go home, she should be referred to a women’s shelter. However, the police rarely fulfill their responsibility.”

However, the police department is not the sole culprit, Kartaler says. The Social Services and Child Protection Agency is also badly equipped to handle domestic violence cases. She stresses that there should a 24-hour unit dealing only with domestic violence complaints. The police do not have a social services agency to which they can direct a victim of domestic abuse outside of work hours. Police officers are also uninformed about what course they should take when confronted with a domestic violence complaint. “Many security officers have no idea what to do in such cases. They do not know that they should notify prosecutors.”

Keeping in-house social services experts in police stations could remedy the problem, in addition to a 24-hour service dealing only with domestic violence issues.

Another important measure would be providing better training for police officers on how to handle domestic violence cases. Kartaler admits that in addition to the lack of a number of agencies that could help the situation, the dominant patriarchal mentality is still one of the most important obstructions in improving the situation of victims of domestic abuse. To change that will undoubtedly take longer and more than government-induced measures to fight. And this is one fight that Turkey’s women cannot afford to lose.'

[EricSeans]

Not sure what the story source is here but the normal journalistic convention is to wait for corroborated legal evidence to come out in court, rather than automatically take the side of someone who has been charged with a criminal offence.

Having said that, from my own experience the immigration officials in Cyprus work in a chaotic atmosphere where foreigners are not always treated with due respect.

[Oracle]

Not sure what the story source is here but the normal journalistic convention is to wait for corroborated legal evidence to come out in court, rather than automatically take the side of someone who has been charged with a criminal offence.

Having said that, from my own experience the immigration officials in Cyprus work in a chaotic atmosphere where foreigners are not always treated with due respect.

Sounds like an elaborate story to cover up the fact she attacked the Officer ..

By doing so she scratched his face.

Seems like this is the only sign of a struggle; the Officer had a scratched face. If he'd tried to choke her, she would have had some bruising to the neck at least

[YFred]

Not sure what the story source is here but the normal journalistic convention is to wait for corroborated legal evidence to come out in court, rather than automatically take the side of someone who has been charged with a criminal offence.

Having said that, from my own experience the immigration officials in Cyprus work in a chaotic atmosphere where foreigners are not always treated with due respect.

I was 14 years old, leaving Cyprus in 72. What the immigration oficer said to me I will never forget. They are rotten to the core. The whole of the roc justice system is. The EU has already critised them and yet I see nothing is done so far.

[denizaksulu]

Not sure what the story source is here but the normal journalistic convention is to wait for corroborated legal evidence to come out in court, rather than automatically take the side of someone who has been charged with a criminal offence.

Having said that, from my own experience the immigration officials in Cyprus work in a chaotic atmosphere where foreigners are not always treated with due respect.

Sounds like an elaborate story to cover up the fact she attacked the Officer ..

By doing so she scratched his face.

Seems like this is the only sign of a struggle; the Officer had a scratched face. If he'd tried to choke her, she would have had some bruising to the neck at least

We wernt there Oracle. The truth lies somewhere between the two stories. We cannot judge. I think the truth will be got out from those officers who intervened initially. Bring on Columbo.

[Oracle]

What the immigration oficer said to me I will never forget.

What?

[YFred]

Not sure what the story source is here but the normal journalistic convention is to wait for corroborated legal evidence to come out in court, rather than automatically take the side of someone who has been charged with a criminal offence.

Having said that, from my own experience the immigration officials in Cyprus work in a chaotic atmosphere where foreigners are not always treated with due respect.

Sounds like an elaborate story to cover up the fact she attacked the Officer ..

By doing so she scratched his face.

Seems like this is the only sign of a struggle; the Officer had a scratched face. If he'd tried to choke her, she would have had some bruising to the neck at least

It will all come out in the court. Just be patient.
And if the papers are torn? Is that what the immigration officers get up to in the roc.

[YFred]

What the immigration oficer said to me I will never forget.

What?

Stanatheman.

I have said it before, what short memory you have.