A Cyprus court has sentenced a Syrian national to five years in prison for helping 31 Syrian migrants reach the Mediterranean island nation aboard an overloaded boat, the attorney general’s office announced.
The office revealed in a statement that the Syrian man, a migrant himself, was convicted on three charges, including people trafficking and aiding migrants to enter Cyprus.
The court found that the defendant had struck a deal with traffickers to captain the boat from an undisclosed Syrian port in exchange for waiving the fee for the journey. According to the ruling, the man had received training on how to operate the boat and was in radio contact with another trafficker who provided instructions on the route. “With his actions, the accused, without any hesitation, made himself an active part of a group taking advantage of people,” the court stated.
The court emphasized that such actions must be addressed firmly due to their growing frequency, signaling a tough stance on migrant trafficking.
Syria lies about 93 nautical miles (173 kilometers) from Cyprus’ southeastern coast, which is a part of the European Union. The Cypriot government’s stepped-up prosecutions and fast legal proceedings have contributed to a decline in migrant arrivals, following a promise to address the issue. This has been a key topic since the 2023 presidential election.
According to the attorney general’s office, the international protection administrative court handled 4,534 cases last year, with only 63 successful outcomes. Of these, 25 migrants were granted refugee status, while four received international protection. The court upheld the status for another 25 and called for a retrial for eight others.
Despite these efforts, the United Nations refugee agency has accused Cyprus of continuing pushbacks at sea, a claim the Cypriot government denies.
