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10 days...

Cat-and-mouse’ game over fate of Serbian woman
By Elias Hazou

THE LAWYER of a Serbian woman behind bars and facing deportation is raising hell with the powers that be to have the mother of two released.

Last week Jasmina Drazic was separated from her 17-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter by immigration officers for outstaying her visa.

The case dates back to last year, when Immigration refused to extend the visa of Jasmina and her husband Zoran Drazic after they been living and working legally on the island since 1999. Zoran was deported in September and now officials are trying to deport Jasmina.

An EU-directive requires that people living in European countries for over five years must be granted long-term residency rights. The directive was passed in November 2003 and published in the EU gazette on January 2004. It called on all member-states to incorporate it into the national legislation by January this year at the latest.

But in a twist, last year the Cyprus government amended its residency regulations, reducing the maximum six-year stay for non-EU foreign nationals to four years.

Drazic’s children have been in the meantime placed under the care of friends, but largely have to fend for themselves. The two youths have been going to Greek public schools for years now and have been assimilated into Cypriot society.

Due to Immigration’s apparent disregard for both the EU directive and the humanitarian aspect of the case, Drazic’s lawyer informed the Ombudwoman of the authorities’ “arbitrary tactics,” as he calls them.

After investigating, Ombudswoman Iliana Nicolaou completed her report and sent it to the Immigration Department this Monday. In it, she recommended that Drazic be released and that her application to renew her residence be reassessed.

Nicolaou’s report was damning on the authorities, as she said the mother’s detention was not in the best interests of the children and was in violation of the Convention of the Rights of the Child.

It has since been three days and authorities have not acted on the Ombudswoman’s recommendation while Drazic awaits her fate in a small detention cell at a Paphos police station.

Even worse, according to Drazic’s lawyer Yiannakis Erotokritou, authorities have been playing cat-and-mouse games over the past few days.

“I’ve been trying to contact the responsible officers at Immigration, but no joy,” Erotokritou told the Mail yesterday.

“I don’t understand why it’s so hard to get hold of somebody.”

Erotokritou has been writing to a host of politicians and public figures in the hopes of raising awareness about the plight of his client.

He has already addressed letters to the Chief of Police, deputies, party leaders and House Speaker Demetris Christofias.

“The Drazics are respectable, hard-working people who have settled in Cyprus. They are no criminals. Why are they being treated in this way?”

“More worryingly, this behaviour by authorities is unacceptable. How can they ignore the Ombudswoman like that? At the very least they should have replied to her recommendation.”
He went on: “Perhaps we should abolish the institution [of Ombudswoman] if no one pays attention to it. I mean, what’s the point of having it if we ignore it blatantly? Don’t get me wrong – Mrs Nicolaou is doing an excellent job. I’m not talking about her.

“I’m talking about the government’s stance. They have to answer this question: is the Ombudswoman’s office a charade to them? And why should taxpayers foot the bill for the office’s expenses? Either keep the Ombudswoman and listen to her, or abolish the office and be done with it.”

Interior Minister Andreas Christou did not share Erotokritou’s feelings.

“Under the law, the Ombudswoman’s suggestions do not carry the force and immediacy of court orders. And it takes time for the Immigration Department to process paperwork, study and prepare a response. Bear in mind also that this is an extremely complex case,” he told the Mail.
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