French authorities have so far been unable to locate the 53-year-old Lithuanian estate agent who was expected to be extradited to the Republic of Cyprus after a French court approved the execution of a European arrest warrant issued against her.
The warrant was issued as part of an investigation into the alleged usurpation of Greek Cypriot properties in the occupied areas, Cyprus Police spokesperson Vyronos Vyronos told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), confirming a report published by Politis on Tuesday.
French authorities unable to locate woman
Speaking to CNA on Wednesday, Vyronos said French authorities recently informed Cyprus Police that they had been unable to locate the woman, who had been released in France under restrictive conditions.
“French authorities informed us that they cannot locate her at this stage,” Vyronos said.
He explained that following the French court’s decision to extradite her to the Republic of Cyprus, the woman needed to be located so that the handover process could proceed.
“When they looked for her to proceed with her arrest, they could not find her,” he said.
“We were ready to proceed with the process of receiving her, but we were told to suspend it until she is located,” he added.
Released under restrictive conditions
Regarding the woman’s release under restrictive conditions, Vyronos explained that this is provided for under the French legal system.
He said certain restrictions had been imposed on her, but when French authorities needed to locate her to proceed with the extradition process, she had left her place of residence.
Asked whether he knew if a new arrest warrant had been issued or whether French authorities had taken any other measures, Vyronos said he was not aware of the details of the procedure being followed in France.
He added that the French authorities would “certainly proceed with procedures” to locate her and implement the court’s decision, namely to hand her over to the Cypriot authorities.
Arrest at Nice airport
The 53-year-old Lithuanian estate agent was arrested on May 16 at Nice Airport under a European arrest warrant issued by the Republic of Cyprus.
Her arrest was linked to an investigation into allegations concerning the usurpation of Greek Cypriot properties in the occupied areas.
She had challenged the execution of the warrant, but the French court ultimately rejected her appeal.
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