Dozens of Kurds and Cypriots gathered outside the Nicosia Central Prison on Wednesday afternoon, demanding the immediate release of Kurdish activist Kenan Ayaz, who returned to the island on Monday to serve the remainder of his sentence following his extradition to Germany.
Photo: in-cyprus.philenews.com
Kenan Ayaz, aged 50, was sentenced by a German court in September 2024 to four years and three months in prison for alleged membership of the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK). He has spent over two years detained in Germany prior to his return to Cyprus.
Photo: in-cyprus.philenews.com
His legal troubles began in March 2023 when he was arrested at Larnaca airport on accusations of international terrorism. The Larnaca district court subsequently approved his extradition to Germany, where he was convicted. Notably, Ayaz had been granted refugee status in Cyprus back in 2010 after fleeing Turkey, where he faced imprisonment in 1993 before being acquitted, only to be re-indicted in 2010.
The demonstration was marked by a strong sense of solidarity among attendees. The Observatory for the Trial of Kenan Ayaz, an advocacy group, described his return as “a great day” for the Kurdish community in Cyprus, stating that he had “returned today to continue his struggle with all of us, for a world without oppression, occupation and genocide.” Representatives from various organisations, including the Association of Democratic Lawyers of Cyprus and politicians from the AKEL party and the Movement of Ecologists-Citizens’ Cooperation, spoke at the rally, highlighting the significance of Ayaz’s case.
Ayaz was accused of acting as a “regional leader” in the PKK and engaging in the organisation of events aimed at propaganda dissemination. The PKK is designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the European Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom. This case unfolds against a backdrop of significant changes within the Kurdish political landscape. In May 2025, the PKK announced its dissolution and the cessation of its 40-year armed struggle against Turkey, following a call from imprisoned leader Abdullah Öcalan to lay down arms. The group initiated symbolic disarmament ceremonies in northern Iraq in July 2025.
As the demonstration drew to a close, Ayaz’s defence lawyer read a message from him, in which he condemned both the German trial and his extradition from Cyprus. “Germany conducted this trial to please Erdogan,” he lamented, asserting that his sentence was imposed despite a lack of criminal charges. He accused the Cypriot government of extraditing him without demanding evidence, claiming that the decision relied solely on German accusations, thereby violating Cyprus’s own laws, the European Convention on Human Rights, and Greek values.
Ayaz urged Cyprus to resist being used as an instrument for Germany’s legal pursuits and to uphold its own laws, values, and historical heritage. His advocacy group has reported that during his time in a German prison, Ayaz endured “harsh conditions,” labelling his prosecution as a significant blow to human rights, and indicative of the political targeting faced by the Kurdish movement in Europe.
