Cyprus politician flags legal controversy over prisoner release

Republican Turkish Party (CTP) MP Ürün Solyalı has raised concerns regarding a legal controversy involving a prisoner sentenced to four years in prison for a fake diploma case. According to Solyalı, the individual was released using a pardon authority granted to the Prison Director through a regulation change, and was subsequently handed over to police for deportation procedures.

However, the Prosecutor's Office later determined that the release was legally invalid because the case was still under appeal in the High Court. Consequently, the individual was ordered back to prison. Solyalı criticized the incident as a sign of “institutional decay,” noting that the individual was re-imprisoned without a new arrest warrant or court order.

Solyalı further alleged that this is not an isolated incident, claiming that approximately 20 to 25 other files currently under appeal may have been subject to similar releases under the Prison Director's discretionary pardon powers. The MP has called for the immediate withdrawal of the relevant prison disciplinary regulations.