Editing Cyprus (section)

===Law, justice and human rights===
{{Main|Cyprus Police|Human rights in Cyprus}}
[[File:Supreme Court of Justice old square Nicosia Republic of Cyprus Cyprus 2.jpg|thumb|Supreme Court of Justice]]

The [[Cyprus Police]] (Greek: {{lang|el|Αστυνομία Κύπρου}}, {{langx|tr|Kıbrıs Polisi}}) is the only National Police Service of the Republic of Cyprus and is under the Ministry of Justice and Public Order since 1993.<ref>{{cite web |title= Defence – Security – Police 
|url= http://www.cyprus.gov.cy/portal/portal.nsf/0/E58D7CBF76D5A989C225701400505902?OpenDocument |publisher=Cyprus Government Web Portal
|access-date=11 October 2012}}{{Dead link |date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>

In "Freedom in the World 2011", Freedom House rated Cyprus as "free".<ref>[http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2011/cyprus Freedom in the World 2011 Report > Cyprus] ({{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130307040239/http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2011/cyprus |date=7 March 2013}}). Retrieved 28 June 2013. Also, p.&nbsp;29.</ref> In January 2011, the Report of the Office of the [[United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights]] on the question of Human Rights in Cyprus noted that the ongoing division of Cyprus continues to affect human rights throughout the island "including freedom of movement, human rights pertaining to the question of missing persons, discrimination, the right to life, freedom of religion, and economic, social and cultural rights".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/16session/A-HRC-16-21.pdf |title=Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the question of human rights in Cyprus: 16th Session, Human Rights Council, United Nations |date=7 January 2011 |publisher=Ohchr.org |access-date=14 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130731132114/http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/16session/A-HRC-16-21.pdf |archive-date=31 July 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> The constant focus on the division of the island can sometimes mask other human rights issues.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.asylumlaw.org/docs/cyprus/usdos99_cyprus.htm |title=US Department of State Report on Human Rights in Cyprus |newspaper=Xpats.io |date=11 January 2010 |publisher=Asylumlaw.org |access-date=2010-11-17}}</ref> Prostitution is rife, and the island has been criticized for its role in the sex trade as one of the main routes of [[human trafficking]] from Eastern Europe.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=26259&cat_id=1 |title=US report raps Cyprus over battle on flesh trade |author=Jean Christou |publisher=cyprus-mail.com |access-date=2007-10-13 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070930014803/http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=26259&cat_id=1 |archive-date = 30 September 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=24784&cat_id=9 |title=A shame on our society |author=Jacqueline Theodoulou |publisher=cyprus-mail.com |access-date=2007-10-13 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927202918/http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=24784&cat_id=9 |archive-date = 27 September 2007}}</ref>

In 2014, Turkey was ordered by the [[European Court of Human Rights]] to pay well over $100m in compensation to Cyprus for the invasion;<ref>{{Cite news |last=Borger |first=Julian |date=12 May 2014 |title = European court orders Turkey to pay damages for Cyprus invasion |url=https://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/may/12/european-court-human-rights-turkey-compensation-cyprus-invasion |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=8 April 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150414060240/http://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/may/12/european-court-human-rights-turkey-compensation-cyprus-invasion |archive-date=14 April 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Ankara]] announced that it would ignore the judgment.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Karadeniz |first1=Tulay |last2=Tokasabay |first2=Ece |date=13 May 2014 |title=Turkey to ignore court order to pay compensation to Cyprus |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-cyprus-davutoglu-idUSBREA4C0AX20140513 | work=Reuters |access-date=7 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924200741/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/13/us-turkey-cyprus-davutoglu-idUSBREA4C0AX20140513 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2014, a group of Cypriot refugees and a European parliamentarian, later joined by the Cypriot government, filed a complaint to the International Court of Justice, accusing Turkey of violating the [[Geneva Conventions]] by directly or indirectly transferring [[Turkish settlers in Northern Cyprus|its civilian population]] into occupied territory.{{citation needed |date=September 2018}} Other violations of the Geneva and the Hague Conventions—both ratified by Turkey—amount to what archaeologist Sophocles Hadjisavvas called "the organised destruction of Greek and Christian heritage in the north".<ref name="Hadjisavvas 2015" /> These violations include looting of cultural treasures, deliberate destruction of churches, neglect of works of art, and altering the names of important historical sites, which was condemned by the [[International Council on Monuments and Sites]]. Hadjisavvas has asserted that these actions are motivated by a Turkish policy of erasing the Greek presence in Northern Cyprus within a framework of ethnic cleansing. But some perpetrators are just motivated by greed and are seeking profit.<ref name="Hadjisavvas 2015">{{cite journal |last=Hadjisavvas |first=S. |year=2015 |title=Perishing Heritage: The Case of the Occupied Part of Cyprus |jstor=10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.3.2.0128 |journal=Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology & Heritage Studies |volume=3 |number=2 |pages=128–140 |doi=10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.3.2.0128}} Quote on p.&nbsp;129: "the deliberate destruction of [Greek] heritage as an instrument toward the obliteration of an identity of a people in the framework of ethnic cleansing."</ref> Art law expert Alessandro Chechi has classified the connection of cultural heritage destruction to ethnic cleansing as the "Greek Cypriot viewpoint", which he reports as having been dismissed by two [[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe|PACE]] reports. Chechi asserts joint Greek and Turkish Cypriot responsibility for the destruction of cultural heritage in Cyprus, noting the destruction of Turkish Cypriot heritage in the hands of Greek Cypriot extremists.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chechi |first1=Alessandro |editor1-last=Benzo |editor1-first=Andrea |editor2-last=Ferrari |editor2-first=Silvio |title=Between Cultural Diversity and Common Heritage: Legal and Religious Perspectives on the Sacred Places of the Mediterranean |date=2014 |publisher=Routledge |pages=314–316 |chapter=Sacred heritage in Cyprus: bolstering protection through the implementation of international law standards and the adoption of an object-oriented approach}}</ref>