Court rules Turkish foundation owner of Cyprus property
15 January 2011, Saturday / TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL
An Ankara court has declared that a Turkish foundation is the owner of property in Cyprus that was the subject of a landmark case against Turkey at the European Court of Human Rights.
In December 2006 the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights ordered Turkey to pay 800,000 euros in compensation to Greek Cypriot plaintiff Myra Xenides-Arestis for blocking access to her house in Famagusta since 1974, when Turkey militarily intervened on the east Mediterranean island.
In 2007, however, a group of 23 Turkish citizens filed a declaratory action at the Ankara court, demanding to be registered as “descendents” of the Abdullah Paşa Foundation, which they said once owned the property in Famagusta. Their lawyer, Aslı Aksu Eren, says it was determined through family records and birth registrations that all of the applicants were descendants of Esseyid Abdullah Paşa, born in 1636.
According to Eren, the Greek Cypriots who seek return of or compensation for the property that is owned by the Abdullah Paşa Foundation in Cyprus will have to show title deeds proving that they really own the property in question, the Anatolia news agency reported on Friday. Anatolia said during the case at the European Court of Human Rights, Xenides-Arestis verbally declared that she inherited the property from her father, a claim accepted by the European court.
Property disputes are one of the most complicated aspects of the Cyprus issue. There are about 1,500 property cases launched by Greek Cypriot applicants against Turkey at the European Court of Human Rights. The Strasbourg-based court has indicated that the applicants should first seek remedy through a Turkish Cypriot committee tasked with tackling property complaints from Greek Cypriots.
Shouldn't they ask Rauf for their share of the 1.5 million quid he got when he sold this to the British?
