Cypriot anger at Cherie land case
Cypriot President Tassos Papadopolous has criticised Cherie
Blair's decision to represent a British couple in a land dispute in divided
Cyprus.
Mrs Blair, a lawyer, said she will
represent Linda and David Oram, who have been embroiled in a row over their
home in northern Cyprus.
President Papadopolous said it was
"provocative" for the wife of the prime minister to be involved in
such a case.
But Downing Street said she was
acting purely in her professional capacity.
Property threat
"It's a provocative action as
it is difficult to separate her professional capacity from being the wife of
the British prime minister," Mr Papadopolous said. "We will take the
issue up with Britain."
Mr and Mrs Oram had built a house on
land bought in the village of Lapithos in northern Cyprus. They were ordered to
pay compensation to a Greek Cypriot refugee, Meletis Apostolides, who left his
home when Turkish troops landed in 1974.
A court in Cyprus threatened to
seize the Orams' property in England if they did not comply.
Because the ruling cannot be
enforced in the northern part of Cyprus - a state which only Turkey recognises
- Greek Cypriot lawyers have taken the dispute to the British High Court.
Cyprus has become part of the EU, which
gives it greater strength for the Cypriot court to seize property in Britain.
The Cypriot government estimates
there are as many as 10,000 foreigners with Greek Cypriot property in the
north.
BBC
NEWS 17/12/2005
Cherie attacked over Cyprus case
DAILY MAIL
17th December 2005
Cherie Blair has come under fire from the Greek Cypriot president for becoming involved in a British couple's land dispute on the divided island.
Tassos Papadopoulos suggested that her position as the Prime Minister's wife could compromise her in the legal battle, calling her decision "provocative".
And he said he would raise the barrister's role as lead counsel in the case, in which the Britons have been ordered to demolish their villa, with the Government.
Downing Street insisted that Mrs Blair was acting purely in her professional capacity as a senior barrister.
And the firm of solicitors which has been fighting the legal battle said it was "unfortunate" that the case had been politicised by the president.
A Cyprus court ordered British couple Linda and David Oram to demolish a two-storey villa they built on land in Lapithos village in northern Cyprus.
It also ordered them to pay compensation to a Greek Cypriot refugee for illegally using his land and threatened to confiscate their home in Britain.
An appeal is pending in Cyprus but prosecutors have now brought the action to the High Court in the UK in a bid to have it enforced.
It cannot be enforced in the Turkish-controlled north, which has been split from the rest of the island since the 1974 invasion but Cyprus' membership of the EU now gives it the opportunity to press for seizure of the UK property in British courts.
There have been a number of similar cases, mainly relating to land said to have been seized illegally from Greek Cypriots forced to flee the north of the island.
Cherie Blair steps into Cyprus land
row
By Jean Christou
CHERIE Blair, wife of the British Prime Minister, has plunged into the
Cyprus quagmire, when it emerged yesterday that she was representing a British
couple accused of illegally buying Greek Cypriot property in the north.
Tony Blair’s barrister wife is taking part in the defence of David and Linda
Orams, who are appealing a Nicosia court decision ordering them to demolish the
house they built on the property of Meletios Apostolides in Lapithos.
Under EU rules, the British High Court has registered the Nicosia judgment and
the Orams have until Wednesday to appeal in the UK.
Speaking on his return from Brussels yesterday, President Tassos Papadopoulos
said the Foreign Ministry had made strong representations to the British High
Commission after hearing of Mrs Blair’s involvement in the Orams case.
Papadopoulos called the move “provocative”, saying it would stir the feelings
of Greek Cypriots against Britain, as the case involved a human right
violation.
“The Foreign Ministry has already made strong representations to the British
High Commission,” Papadopoulos said. He said he had been told the decision was
entirely that of Cherie Blair, whose professional career is conducted under her
maiden name of Booth, and should not be given a political angle.
A brief statement by the British High Commission in Nicosia yesterday said: “Ms
Cherie Booth QC is acting in a professional capacity. Any enquiries relating to
her legal practice should be directed to her chambers, Matrix.”
Matrix confirmed to Reuters in London that it was working with a group of
solicitors defending two Britons accused by a Greek Cypriot refugee of
trespassing on his property in northern Cyprus.
“We are utterly astonished by the undertaking by Mrs Blair,” Government
Spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides said yesterday. “This will no doubt hurt the
feelings of all Greek Cypriots, particularly those displaced whose properties
are being robbed and exploited by the occupation regime. It is not a question
of human rights of Mrs Orams but of the violation of human rights of the
original owners of the property. This is not only a question of embarrassment
for the British Prime Minister, but diplomatically, it’s very sensitive.”
Chrysostomides said Mrs Blair was undertaking to represent one of the many
hundreds of Britons who are illegally trespassing, “giving the impression the
official policy of the British government is to support illegality.”
He said the High Commission in Nicosia had tried to justify the situation. “But
the justification is thin,” he added. Political parties on the island also
condemned the move yesterday, but Costantinos Candounas, the lawyer
representing Apostolides against the Orams couple, told the Sunday Mail he was
unfazed by having to come up against Mrs Blair in a British court.
“Obviously she is very well respected and very competent and I look forward to
the case. She will be a formidable opponent,” he said. Candounas said he did
not believe the fact that the British Prime Minister’s wife was involved in the
case would affect the judgment of the British court.
Turkish mainland newspaper Hurriyet reported yesterday that Cherie Blair had in
May visited Istanbul, where she had meetings with the Orams’ Turkish Cypriot
lawyers.
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 18/12/2005
Cherie Booth's role in Cyprus land dispute angers president
Helena Smith in
Athens
Monday December 19, 2005
The Guardian
The president of Cyprus,
Tasson Papadopoulos, has condemned Cherie Booth for agreeing to defend a
British couple in a land dispute that has become one of the most sensitive
issues on the island. He said the prime minister's wife was behaving provocatively
by agreeing to represent the pair in the high-profile case.
"It is difficult to separate her
professional capacity from being the wife of the British prime minister,"
said Mr Papadopoulos, who is also a British-trained barrister. "We will
take this issue up with Britain."
Downing Street insisted Ms
Booth was acting purely in her professional capacity as a leading QC. The spat
erupted after Ms Booth's chambers, Matrix, confirmed at the weekend that she
would be heading the defence of David and Linda Orams, the couple ordered by a
Greek Cypriot court last year to demolish their home in Turkish-run northern
Cyprus.
In a move with possible repercussions for
other UK citizens owning holiday retreats in the outlawed republic, Mr and Mrs
Oram were also ordered to return the property to Meletis Apostolides, the Greek
Cypriot refugee who owned the plot before war split the island in 1974.
Ms Booth's involvement became known after
the test case was lodged by Mr Apostolides' lawyer with the high court in
London. As a specialist in European human rights law, Ms Booth is believed to
have been approached by the Orams' London-based Turkish Cypriot solicitor,
Hassan Vahid.
Speaking from Nicosia, the refugee's
solicitor said: "As the Greek Cypriot court's judgment cannot be enforced
in northern Cyprus because of the island's division, we used EU regulations to
have it registered and applied against the Orams' assets in the UK."
Mr and Mrs Oram, who were accused of
trespassing on Mr Apostolides' property, have refused to comply with the Greek
Cypriot ruling. If, however, the judgment is upheld by the high court, their
home in Hove could be seized by the Greek Cypriot refugee. The couple have
until Thursday to appeal.
An estimated 10,000 Europeans are thought
to have invested in the enclave, a breakaway territory recognised only by
Turkey. Most, like the Orams, are Britons attracted to the outlawed state by
the bargain prices of properties often forcibly abandoned by Greek Cypriots in
1974.
But growing numbers of refugees -
encouraged by Mr Apostolides' success and by Cyprus obtaining EU status - have
vowed to press ahead with legal action.
Ms Booth's decision to take on the case was
tantamount to condoning the Orams' "illegal trespassing," said Kypros
Chrysostomides, the island's government spokesman, adding: "We are
astonished by this undertaking. This is diplomatically very sensitive."
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
THE TIMES 19/12/2005