Attempted sexual assault on child in Kyrenia: Enhanced beach patrols
Following an attempted sexual assault on a girl on a beach in occupied Kyrenia, "mayor" Sengiöl announced increased patrols and permanent security measures.
Outcry in occupied Kyrenia following attempted sexual assault on child
Turkish Cypriot websites posted video footage showing a man attempting to sexually assault a young girl on a public beach in occupied Kyrenia during daylight hours. According to Politis, bystanders immediately intervened, immobilised the perpetrator and handed him over to "municipal police", who subsequently took him to "court" for detention.
Following the outcry caused by the incident, Kyrenia's "mayor", Murat Sengiöl, announced the intensification of security measures and an increase in "municipal police" patrols on beaches. He also noted that a study has already commenced on permanent security interventions, which are planned to be implemented in 2027.
Sengiöl clarified, however, that these immediate measures do not constitute a permanent solution. In a post published by Turkish Cypriot media, he argued that substantive addressing of the problem requires "complete reconstruction of state authority" and complete knowledge of where individuals residing in the occupied territories for work or holidays are located and what they are doing.
The "mayor" also linked the security issue to population management, pointing out that approximately 10,000 people benefited from the recent amnesty for migration violations — a figure which, he noted, demonstrates that at least that many individuals were illegally in the occupied territories during the amnesty period. No one should remain illegally in the pseudo-state, he emphasised.
Sengiöl warned that due to increasing and changing demographic composition, the number of criminal incidents may be higher compared to the past, citing examples from other countries. He concluded with a call to political leadership to take action, saying: "This is our home, we must solve the problems here because we have nowhere else to go."
Source: Politis