A 36-year-old Iranian man has been sentenced to six months in prison by Limassol District Court after attempting to travel to Piraeus using a forged Spanish passport at Limassol’s new port.
The court heard that the defendant had fled Iran after participating in anti-government protests following the death of Mahsa Amini.
His defence lawyer told the court that protesters had been arrested and sentenced to death by hanging and that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps wanted her client for disseminating protest footage to media outlets.
The defendant admitted paying €15,000 to smugglers to reach Germany, where he has family, but ended up in Cyprus as it was considered an easier transit route. He was given the fake passport and identity documents after arriving on the island, the court heard.
Judge Theodoros Symeonides noted that while this was an exceptional case involving a man fleeing persecution, the prevalence of such offences required deterrent sentences. The court considered the defendant’s clean criminal record, young age, and cooperation with investigators in mitigation.
The judge said that while the man had not intended to harm any citizens, the serious nature of the offences demanded appropriate punishment to deter others.
He was sentenced to concurrent terms of six months for circulating forged documents and two months for identity fraud, backdated to his arrest.
The defendant has since applied for asylum using his real identity documents.
(File photo from Mahsa Amini protests) (ıncyprus)
