Court orders release of asylum seeker who had been held for six months

The supreme court has ordered the release of an asylum seeker who had been held in custody for six months, stating that the Cypriot authorities had not undertaken due diligence to ensure his deportation during that time.

The man, a Cameroonian national, had first applied for asylum in 2019, and this application was rejected in 2024.

He was then arrested on July 3 last year on suspicion of residing in Cyprus without the requisite residence documents, with a deportation order having been issued on the same day.