Despite public commitments, official decisions, and assurances from the competent authorities, Kenan Ayaz remains in detention, while to this day his residence permit has not been resolved. Promises are not kept. Words do not turn into action. Responsibility is shifted.
We recall that Kenan Ayaz holds political refugee status, recognized by the Republic of Cyprus and never revoked. Nevertheless, his treatment within the Central Prisons effectively negates the very institutional framework invoked by the state itself.
As has been publicly stated, no Cypriot judicial or political authority had before it evidence of the commission of a criminal offence by Kenan Ayaz. Despite this, the Republic of Cyprus chose to apply the European framework for the recognition of custodial sentences between Member States, even though the offences for which he was convicted in Germany do not constitute criminal offences under Cypriot law and do not concern acts of violence or criminal activity.
This choice was neither mandatory nor neutral. Kenan Ayaz’s political refugee status, the risk of political persecution by Turkey, and the nature of his conviction provided clear grounds for refusing or discontinuing the execution of the sentence. The continuation of his detention therefore constitutes a political choice, for which the Republic of Cyprus bears full responsibility.
Kenan Ayaz is a person who was detained for 17 years in Turkish prisons without trial, and whose life and freedom are directly threatened by the Turkish state. The fact that a case is pending against him in Turkey—a state with a documented history of political persecution and systematic repression against Kurdish activists—renders any delay in his release a grave political and moral responsibility.
The continuation of his detention means that the Republic of Cyprus implicitly accepts Turkey’s claimed right to impose prosecutions and convictions against Kurdish activists through third countries, thereby transferring this repression into the European sphere.
The case of Kenan Ayaz is not an isolated one.
It is directly connected to what is happening today in Rojava, where the Kurdish people are subjected to continuous attack, displacement, and annihilation. Faced with this reality, the Western world turns a blind eye, including the Republic of Cyprus, which chooses abstention instead of a clear political stance.
Where a crime is being committed in Rojava, political identity is being criminalized here.
Where international solidarity is demanded, institutional delay is imposed here.
The failure to grant Kenan Ayaz his permit is not an administrative backlog.
It is a political choice. And this choice exposes the Republic of Cyprus.
Cyprus, with its own history of occupation, displacement, and persecution, must take this seriously. It cannot recognize a political refugee while simultaneously holding him in a state of perpetual hostage-taking.
History is not written only on the front lines.
It is written in prisons.
It is written in silence.
We do not forget.
Observatory for the Trial of Kenan Ayaz