Isaak and Solomou Murders: 29 Years of Impunity in Cyprus

August 11, 2025, marked 29 years since the murder of Tassos Isaak, who was beaten to death in 1996 by agents of the Turkish occupation forces in Cyprus. Three days later, Solomos Solomou was shot dead while attempting to remove a Turkish flag from a pole in the UN Buffer Zone.

Solomou was unarmed. Despite the identification of suspects, such as Kenan Akin, no one has been held criminally accountable. Akin, a former "minister" in the "TRNC", remains free despite an INTERPOL Red Notice.

In 2008, the European Court of Human Rights (case *Solomou and Others v. Turkey*) condemned Turkey for violating the right to life. However, individual criminal accountability remains non-existent.

The failure to execute Red Notices raises questions about the effectiveness of international criminal cooperation.