The rushed deportation of a Brazilian man soon after his release from prison despite the fact that he had entered into a civil partnership with a Cypriot, violates the couple’s right to family life, LGBTΙ rights group Accept said on Wednesday.
Wemson Cabral Da Costa, also known as Enzo, was deported on Monday a few weeks after being released from prison where he had served five years for drug smuggling. Last January, he had signed a civil partnership with Kevork from Cyprus, another inmate whom he met in prison.
After being released, he was picked up by the police and was detained for deportation, initially scheduled for Wednesday, while his partner and friends scrambled to convince authorities to let him stay. But Nouris on Monday said Enzo was deported that same day.
Accept said that by unjustifiably expediting his deportation, the executive had followed irregular proceedings in breach of due process and violated his basic human rights.
The group also slammed as “cheap populism” Interior Minister Nicos Nouris’ response to pleas to allow Enzo remain in Cyprus with his partner. The minister reportedly said: “let them go live together in Brazil.”
These comments were “unacceptable, inhumane, and inappropriate” given Nouris’ position, Accept said.
Enzo’s issue was discussed at the House human rights committee on Monday, with its members planning on asking the minister to postpone the deportation until further clarifications were given.
But the deportation was expedited by two days, the NGO said as it called on the interior ministry to explain why it has deliberately ignored the couple’s right to family life and the will of the competent parliamentary committee, and whether there were other motives beyond the general appeal to “public interest”.
Nouris had said on Monday that Enzo remaining in Cyprus did not serve the best interests of the public.
Accept said reasonable questions are also raised as to why the proceedings were unjustifiably expedited, without public information and behind closed doors. “Many other issues are raised, which we are currently investigating,” the group said, adding they would soon provide more information about the case and the conditions of Enzo’s deportation.
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