Supreme Court awards €100,000 over failure to investigate 1974 disappearance

Nicosia, Cyprus. The Supreme Court has ruled that the state failed to properly investigate the disappearance of Loizos Hadjigeorgiou and his son Giorgos, who were abducted in 1974, and awarded their family €100,000 in compensation on Friday. The court found that the family’s human rights had been violated.

Supreme Court ruling

The court unanimously overturned a 2017 Nicosia district court ruling that had rejected a lawsuit filed by the family against the state in 2009.

It found violations of Articles 2 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, concerning the right to life and protection from inhuman or degrading treatment.

Abduction case

Loizos Hadjigeorgiou and his son Giorgos were unarmed residents of Strongylos village in Famagusta. They were abducted on August 15, 1974.

The Supreme Court said the case required a different approach from other missing persons cases during the Turkish invasion, as evidence indicated that the two men had been abducted by Turkish Cypriots who were also citizens of the Republic, rather than as part of a foreign military operation.

Duty to investigate

The court said the authorities had a duty to conduct a “targeted, specialised and intensive investigation”, including examining whether anyone could face criminal responsibility for the abduction and disappearance.

It said treating the case simply as another missing persons case from the 1974 hostilities was “insufficient”.

The court also rejected the argument that the state’s duty to investigate depended on the discovery of the men’s remains. It said the obligation arose from the circumstances of their disappearance and did not require their bodies to be found first.

The court further found that there had been information about people allegedly involved in the abduction.