The Cyprus government is accountable for the “inhuman and degrading treatment” of a Syrian pregnant woman and her two children aged one and half and three.
This is what the House Human Rights Committee Chairman Irini Charalambides said on Monday after the recent case of the Syrian irregular migrant was debated.
The pregnant woman who reached Cyprus on a refugee boat in August has given birth to a boy, while the rest of her family and other passengers who were pushed back to Lebanon.
They are now facing deportation to Syria, that is, if Cyprus rejects their family reunification claim.
The woman who is in a terrible psychological state of mind reportedly has filed for asylum in the Republic of Cyprus after reaching the island on August 22 along with 87 other undocumented passengers – all refugees from Syria.
The woman’s husband and two young children were among the undocumented travelers who were pushed back to Lebanon by Cypriot authorities after two refugee boats were intercepted several miles off the island’s southeastern coast.
Interior Minister Nicos Nouris refused to join the House committee and give clarifications on this humanitarian issue on the pretext that non-governmental organization KISA’s head was also invited.
KISA stands for Action for Equality, Support and Antiracism but after controversial actions by the organisation the government has proceeded with annulling its registration.