French court rejects Cyprus’ appeal against refusal to extradite man accused of developing property in north

The French court of cassation has rejected the Republic of Cyprus’ appeal against a lower court’s rejection of an extradition request regarding a man whom the Cypriot government accuses of developing property on land in the north owned by Greek Cypriots without their consent.

The decision upholds a ruling made by the city of Aix-en-Provence’s court of appeal last month, which rejected the request on the basis that given that the European Union’s acquis communautaire is suspended in the north, it cannot be applied there.