nick venedi

Friday, 2 November 2012

Cypriots to sue UK government for torture

A group of Cypriots are determined to sue the British government for damages and an apology for torture during the fight against colonial rule. The specific case of a 17 year old Evagoras Palikarides, a school boy who was hanged because he brought down a British flag in his school, is also to be looked at again.

A British court has already ruled on the right of three Kenyans to pursue damages for torture in the 1950s, which “has paved the path for us to carry on.

Because of the Kenya decision, two questions are answered: whether a law suit would be admissible in court and whether the court would admit a case dating back over fifty years.

Top secret foreign office files made available this year, have showed that activists and civilians were brutally tortured between 1955 and 1959.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has said it will make more documents available by September 2013 that will also need to be studied.

Leading Cypriot lawyer Clerides confirmed that about 20 cases stood out, although about 60 individuals have detailed alleged abuses and said they are willing to go to court.

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