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International News Desk
A potentially crippling lawsuit has been filed in the United States against the Turkish government in relation to claims by owners of property in Cyprus’ northern Turkish occupied areas, who are seeking the use and enjoyment of their property. The amount the class action law suit is seeking to reclaim from the Turkish government is reported to be around $400 billion.
A Cypriot lobby group behind the law suit in a statement said:
“A Class Action lawsuit is being filed against the Republic of Turkey for depriving hundreds of thousands of property owners their rights to use and enjoy their property in northern Cyprus.”
It explains that the deprivation of the use and enjoyment of property started with the wrongful invasion and occupation of 40% of the island nation of the Republic of Cyprus in 1974 that continues to this day.
“Despite recent findings of mass murders sites of civilians and others condemned by the international community, the Republic of Turkey has failed to cooperate with the civilized world,” it adds.
To this day, it notes, the Turkish Cypriot occupation regime through the use of the Turkish military deprive the plaintiffs and the Class the rights to use, enjoy or return to their properties in violation of international law and the laws of the U.S.
This lawsuit seeks compensation for the denial of the use and enjoyment of the properties belonging to approximately 200,000 refugees and others who were forced to leave by military force, some of whom paying with their lives, by the Republic of Turkey in concert with the illegal regime in occupied Cyprus.
The Turkish military equipment used to wrongfully occupy and displace the plaintiffs and the Class from their property was sold and originated from the United States that by law requires that U.S. military equipment acquired by Turkey not be used in an offensive manner, the press release notes.
There have already been notable victories for Greek-Cypriots against the Turkish government notably Titina Loizidou who had a decision upheld in the European Courts against the illegal occupation of her home in Kyrenia by the Turkish military.
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