Occupied Territories: Turkish Cypriot Unionist Offers Bail for 5 Greek Cypriots

A new interruption occurred during today's proceedings before a "military court" regarding the five Greek Cypriots illegally detained in the occupied territories. The process has been ongoing for 10 hours.

Turkish Cypriot unionist Şener Elcil offered to pay bail for the defendants, stating that he believes in their innocence and that they will not flee. As collateral, he offered his car worth £25,000.

Mr. Elcil argued that this is a fabricated case and spoke out against such practices.

The atmosphere became particularly tense when the "prosecutor," commenting on these statements, said, "If your purpose is to raise the tension, I will raise it." The "judge" was forced to intervene, stating that he would not allow the "prosecution" to escalate the tension.

When the "prosecutor" asked Mr. Elcil what his belief that the defendants would not flee was based on, the Turkish Cypriot unionist replied: "There are 45,000 soldiers, over 3,000 police officers, and five intelligence services. If they cannot stop five people, then surely I cannot either. Protecting the borders is the duty of the Turkish army," he said.

Mr. Elcil also categorically denied claims that he has financial ties to the defendants.

The process was interrupted again shortly before 7:30 PM.

Read also: Lengthy process for the 5 Greek Cypriots - "They were exhausted from standing"

Source: CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY