Man arrested for crossing illegally to north jailed pending trial

A man who was arrested on Sunday after having handed himself in to the Turkish Cypriot police after he illegally crossed from the Republic to the north was jailed for a month pending a trial on Wednesday.

In court in northern Nicosia, police officer Murat Ergun explained that the man, who lives in the Republic, had crossed undetected from the Republic to the north in Nicosia at around 2am on Sunday.

The man first appeared in court on Sunday afternoon, and, Ergun said, had “given a statement to police about which route he took” after his initial hearing.

Ergun added that given the circumstances of the case, the suspect may be a flight risk, and requested that he be tried in custody.

Judge Nuray Necdet acquiesced and ordered that he be held in prison for a period not exceeding a month pending a trial.