Nicosia, Cyprus. A photograph circulating online showing two blindfolded men believed to be Greek Cypriot prisoners of war from 1974 has been verified as authentic by Turkish journalist Selim Esen, who said he appears in the image.
Verification and origin of the image
The Cyprus Independent Reporting Network (Ciren) contacted Esen after questions were raised on social media about the photograph’s authenticity, including versions circulated in enhanced and colourised form.
Esen, who was dispatched to Cyprus in 1974 as a reporter for the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) to cover the invasion, said the image is genuine and part of his personal archive. “The person on the right in civilian clothes is me,” he said.
Date, location and people shown
Esen said the photograph was taken in Mia Milia on August 14, 1974, during the second phase of Operation Attila.
He added that, to the best of his recollection, the civilian next to the blindfolded person on the left is a member of the TMT. Esen said the photo was taken by his cameraman friend Vedat Gures or Sonat Konor, who came to Cyprus with him.
Online circulation and digital checks
The image was first shared by independent researcher Odysseas Christou on May 4 and shows three men standing in front of a black Mercedes, with a blindfolded man positioned between a civilian and an armed soldier.
Ciren reported that initial digital checks produced mixed results from AI detection tools, which flagged manipulation in edited versions. The photograph has also circulated in a cropped black and white form showing additional figures as well as another blindfolded individual.
Missing persons context
The Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) reports a total of 2,002 missing persons from the 1963 to 1974 period, with 933 still unaccounted for.
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