A lawsuit for illegal use of property in occupied Famagusta by an official of the occupying regime will be tried by a court in the free areas. The lawsuit was filed by the Thomaidis family and is directed against Fikri Ataoglou, until recently a "minister" of the occupying regime and now president of the Turkish Cypriot Democratic Party.
According to an ad published last Friday in an English-language daily newspaper, the lawsuit is expected to be heard today, January 15, 2020 in the Famagusta District Court.
Specifically in this ad the following is mentioned:
"Lawsuit for the illegal use of property in Famagusta against a Turkish Cypriot government official.
On 15/01/2020, the Famagusta District Court will hear the lawsuit against the recent Minister of Tourism in the Turkish-occupied area of Cyprus, Mr. Fikri Ataoglou, his wife Sigtem Ataoglou and his daughter Kanos who own property, which belongs to the Thomaidis family from Famagusta. The property was registered in the name of their company Thomaides Group (Holdings) Ltd.
With this lawsuit, the rightful owners claim damages for its illegal use by the so-called "minister" and his family from 2005 until today, and a decree that will allow the rightful owners to freely enjoy their property.
The court allowed the execution of the warrant via e-mail to the so-called Minister of Tourism of the Turkish-occupied area of Cyprus. However, the so-called minister (defendant) did not appear before the court despite the fact that the lawsuit was in Turkish ".
It is the first lawsuit against an official of the occupying regime and a Turkish Cypriot political leader. At the same time, this is a lawsuit against the user of the Greek Cypriot property.
Until now, the lawsuits have been directed against Turkey, as the occupying power and the country that controls the occupied part. The applicants were seeking compensation from Turkey for not being able to use their property.
Given the refusal of Fikri Ataoglu, as stated in the ad, to respond to the lawsuit against him, the decision of the provincial court will be important as he is a Turkish Cypriot political leader and if prosecution is instituted in case he is released areas. As it is known, several of the Greek Cypriot parties make contacts with political forces in the occupied territories and leaders of Turkish Cypriot parties come to the free areas.
At the end of last December, Fikri Ataoglu became the president of the Turkish Cypriot Democratic Party, following the resignation of Serdar Denktash. F. Ataoglou was also the only candidate for the presidency of the Democratic Party.
It should also be noted that last September the Democratic Party, then chaired by Serdar Denktash, had partnered with Erhan Arikli's Renaissance Party (representing the settlers). According to what was published at the time, in the Turkish Cypriot press, the Democratic Party and the Renaissance are not excluded from cooperating in the "presidential elections" next April.
Source: philenews