Author
The Refugee Law provides that asylum applicants in reception centers should have the opportunity to communicate with relatives, legal advisors or advocates, representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other relevant national, international and non-governmental organizations and bodies. [1]
In practice, asylum applicants living in reception centers can communicate with NGOs and UNHCR by telephone, email and other online platforms and in person if they have freedom of movement. However, given the remote location of reception centres, transportation to the major cities, including Nicosia, is often inconvenient. Residents of Kofinou Reception Center are provided with a bus card which allows the use of any route within the cities of Larnaca and Nicosia but not from Kofinou to the city. To travel to a city they require an additional bus card, which is provided upon request to the administration of Kofinou and requires justification of the prupose of travel; in most cases approval will be given for appointments at governmental departments and medical appointments.
NGO’s access to Kofinou, Pournara and Limnes (temporarily relocated as a section of Kofinou due to construction) where asylum applicants are residing is restricted, In order to access centers, NGOs must send a request to the Asylum Service which is not always granted and, in most cases, NGOs contracted or in agreement to provide services in a center are provided with access.[2] Such restrictions are often applied to lawyers or to legal advisors of NGOs when access is requested for the purpose of provision of legal advice or counselling. Specifically regarding Pournara, the CPT noted in 2024 that access to Pournara Centre was hindered for some civil society bodies. For others, it was restricted to the provision of limited activities and not the provision of pro bono legal advice.[3]
[1] Article 9IΔ(6) Refugee Law.
[2] Statewatch, Civic space in Cyprus must be protected, 14 February 2004, available here.
[3] CPT, Report to the Government of Cyprus on the visit to Cyprus carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) from 9 to 17 May 2023, available here.