A FAMAGUSTA refugee had to pay a €500 fine to be released from custody in the north yesterday after being arrested by Turkish occupation forces for taking pictures of his home in the fenced off area of Varosha.
The 74-year-old Georgios Kyprianou, now a resident of Aradippou was arrested at 1.30pm on Sunday by Turkish soldiers after taking pictures of his home in Varosha with his 50-year-old son, Kypros Kyprianou, visiting with his family from America.
The two families visited the perimeter of the fenced-off city now classified as a Turkish military zone when father and son took out their cameras to take pictures from the perimeter.
“As we got into the car to leave, two soldiers came, detained us, then police came. They said the zone is prohibited and we were not allowed to take photographs,” the son told CyBC yesterday.
The two were taken to a police station where the 50-year-old son, holder of a US passport, was released while the father was detained. The son informed Cyprus Republic police immediately who informed UNFICYP at around 5.30pm. That evening the son returned to the north to take medicines to his father.
At around 2pm yesterday, Georgios Kyprianou was taken to court, fined 1,000 Turkish Lira (€500) and released. The refugee pensioner went back to Famagusta to pick up his car before returning to the government-controlled areas.