An out-of-court settlement has been agreed by the British government with 33 EOKA veterans who said they were tortured while in detention.
The veterans launched a claim in 2015 against the UK government following their detention between 1955-1959 during the EOKA insurgency, when they said that they had been tortured.
Minister for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Sir Alan Duncan said the UK government had agreed to pay £1,000,000 in damages with an amount in legal costs to be determined by the court in due course.
“The settlement does not constitute any admission of liability and is not a precedent in respect of any potential future claims against the government. Indeed, the government has maintained throughout proceedings that the passage of time means that it is now no longer possible to establish all of the facts with certainty.
“However, the government has settled the case in order to draw a line under this litigation and to avoid the further escalation of costs, which would ultimately be borne by the taxpayer”, he said.
The claim was originally brought by 35 former members of EOKA, since then, two have died.
A UK government statement read that “The UK government reaffirms its commitment to building a modern, forward-looking relationship between the UK and Cyprus, built on shared values of mutual respect and full equality”.
Cyprus Mail
