STATEMENT BY DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON KUDRET ÖZERSAY

This evening, our Police department discovered a body which, as a result of overwhelming evidence, is believed to belong to the Greek Cypriot national Solomos Apostolidis, who entered the TRNC on 28 March via the Bostancı crossing point and who went missing since then. Upon receiving news that the said person had gone missing, our Government immediately began following the matter closely.

Since the initial stages of this incident, our Police Directorate-General has been in close consultation with and has duly informed the said Greek Cypriot person’s family. Similarly, the Greek Cypriot authorities have also been kept informed through the bi-communal Technical Committee on Crime and Criminal Matters. Following my recent conversation with our Police authorities, I can say that the evidence at hand is sufficient enough to enable us to identify the perpetrator or perpetrators of this crime in the shortest possible time. It is clear that in due course, we will be able to both identify and penalize these perpetrators accordingly.

The information we have received from our Police Department indicates that this was a not a politically-motivated crime. On the other hand, no matter the nature of the crime, we would like to emphasize that we will continue to follow closely the investigation and inform the public on this matter. We offer our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased.