Three students sent to prison awaiting trial for living illegally in the TRNC

Three foreigners have been sent to prison awaiting trial after they were identified and arrested by Turkish Cypriot police for living illegally in the TRNC.

The three suspects named only as ANA, OOS and BTK who are students in the TRNC were arrested this week by the police during inspections carried out across the country.

They were taken to court on Thursday on charges of illegal residency.

Police officer who testified in court said the suspect, ANA had been living illegally in the country since September 30, 2022, OOS since June 26, 2019, and BTK since March 12, 2023.  

Speaking after the police, the suspect OOS said that he came to the island as a "student", attended school for 2 years, but left school and started working because his family died during the pandemic.

Police stated that the investigation was completed and requested that the suspects, who do not have legal status in the country, be sent to prison for a period not exceeding 20 days.