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Tel Aviv [Israel], January 12 (ANI/TPS): A Cypriot court rejected an Israeli national's appeal in a legal case that has become a thorny issue for Israeli-Cypriot relations.
Property developer Simon Mistriel Aykut, a 74-year-old Israeli-Turkish national is accused of selling EUR43 million ($44.1 million) worth of properties belonging to Greek Cypriots in Turkish-occupied Northern Cyprus. In two separate rulings this week, the Supreme Court of Cyprus dismissed three pleas by Aykut who argued he did not receive a fair trial. The Supreme Court said it could not examine the merits of Aykut's case until the completion of his trial. Aykut faces 242 charges including fraudulent transactions, illegal possession and use of land, and money laundering among other charges. All the properties in question are located in villages in the Famagusta and Kyrenia Districts of Northern Cyprus. He was arrested in June while trying to enter the Republic of Cyprus, where he also develops property, from Northern Cyprus. The issue of illegal exploitation by foreigners of Greek Cypriot property in Northern Cyprus is probably the only thorny matter in Cypriot-Israeli relations. It was officially raised in 2023 by Cyprus President Nicos Christodoulides with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with overnight stays by Israeli tourists in hotels in the north, most of which are illegally built on Greek Cypriot land or belonged to Greek Cypriots before 1974. Israel's Foreign Ministry has instructed its nationals to comply with the directives issued by the government of Cyprus. In 1974, the Turkish army overran Northern Cyprus. Almost all the Greek Cypriots there were driven off their lands or fled. The international community does not recognize the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. (ANI/TPS)
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