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- A 1996 anti-occupation motorcyclists’ march ended in clashes in Deryneia after some participants continued toward roadblocks in Cyprus.
- Tassos Isaak, 24, was beaten to death on August 11 in the Deryneia buffer zone, with UN peacekeepers remaining passive.
- Three days later, Solomos Solomou was fatally shot while trying to remove a Turkish flag, in images broadcast live worldwide.
- Interviewees called for justice, noting ongoing arrest warrants and the European Court of Human Rights’ 2008 ruling against Turkey.
Thirty years after the brutal murders of Tassos Isaak and Solomos Solomou, members of their families and eyewitnesses spoke to CNA about the tragic events that unfolded in August 1996, giving shocking personal testimonies about those dramatic days that marked their lives forever.
In the summer of 1996, the Cyprus Motorcyclists Federation organised a European anti-occupation march that began in Berlin and had as ending point the Turkish-occupied town of Kyrenia. However, after the joint decision of the political leadership and the motorcyclists’ leadership to cancel the part of the march within Cyprus, a group of motorcyclists disagreed and continued their march towards the Deryneia point and other roadblocks in the area, where serious incidents broke out within the buffer zone.
On August 11, in the Deryneia buffer zone, 24-year-old Tassos Isaak was beaten to death by Turkish Cypriots and members of the Grey Wolves, with the UN peacekeepers remaining passive in the face of what was unfolding before them.
Three days later, on the day of Tassos Isaak’s funeral, his 26-year-old cousin, Solomos Solomou, attempted to take down the Turkish flag from a flagpole at an occupation force outpost. He was fatally shot in front of television cameras, in images that were broadcast live around the world and caused an international outcry.
Tasos Isaak’s daughter, Anastasia Isaak, told CNA that “my father sacrificed himself for the freedom of our homeland. His sacrifice was not the result of a military conflict between armies, but of a peaceful anti-occupation demonstration by motorcyclists who were demanding the obvious: free movement in their own homeland.”
Asked what she would consider a real vindication for her father’s sacrifice, she said that it is not only the punishment of the murderers, but also the delivery of justice to all those who continue to experience the consequences of the Turkish invasion and occupation.
Sister of Solomos Solomou, Stella Solomou, told CNA that 30 years after his death, the family carries “immense bitterness and disappointment” because it has not yet been possible to arrest the murderers and bring them to justice.
“The fact that the murderers are walking around free, protected by the occupying force, proves the hypocrisy of those who talk about human rights,” she added. Stella Solomou said that “the real vindication for my brother’s sacrifice would be to bring the murderers to justice and the withdrawal of Turkish troops from our homeland, Cyprus”.
Deputy Government Spokesman Yiannis Antoniou, who was at the time of the events working as a reporter for the ‘Phileleftheros’ newspaper, told CNA that there was tension already in the first days of August, especially after the overt threats of the Denktash regime (Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus) that the Turkish army and the so-called “security forces” would react if the motorcyclists attempted to cross into the occupied territories”.
“It was one of the most difficult things I wrote, because it was difficult to capture on paper what I experienced. It was the first time I saw a person being killed, and with such brutality. It took many years for me to be able to go to the Deryneia roadblock, while to this day it is extremely painful for me to see photographs from that horrible day, several of which are mine,” Antoniou said.
Andreas Pettemerides, who was an eyewitness to the tragic events that unfolded at the Deryneia roadblock on August 14, 1996, also spoke to CNA.
“After the funeral of Tassos Isaak, people spontaneously poured out into the streets again, and we went to the area where Tassos Isaak was murdered to lay a wreath, where a large number of police forces were lined up”.
“Suddenly, a lot of gunshots were heard”, he said, adding that “I fell to the ground, people were trying to leave. For a few seconds, there was chaos from the gunfire. Solomos fell down after the gunshots,” he noted.
In his statements to CNA, President of the Kyrenia Bar Association, Nikolas Constantinides said that “the murder of two unarmed citizens, in front of the eyes of the international community, constitutes a blatant violation of the most fundamental human right, the right to life”.
He noted that the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) condemned Turkey in its decision in June 2008, for violations of the European Convention on Human Rights and specifically the right to life.
The Court, he pointed out, attributed the murders to agents of the Turkish government, which makes Turkey responsible at the international level.
Constantinides said that the Republic of Cyprus has proceeded to issue national arrest warrants since 1996 and subsequently, through Interpol, to the circulation of Red Notices.
He noted that former Minister of Justice and Public Order, Marios Hartsiotis, had informed the House of Representatives on this issue in November 2025 and that from this information it appears that currently eight arrest warrants are in force for the murder of Tassos Isaak, three of which are accompanied by Interpol Red Notices and five by international Wanted Person Diffusions.
Regarding the murder of Solomos Solomou, he said that five arrest warrants are in force, with Red Notices having been issued for only two of the wanted persons.
“The competent authorities must use and exhaust all available legal and other tools of judicial assistance and cooperation to locate and arrest the wanted persons, including the issuance of European Arrest Warrants,” he said.
The European Arrest Warrants, he went on to say, “are legally binding for all member states of the European Union, unlike Interpol notices, the implementation of which depends on the cooperation of each country.”
He noted that if European Arrest Warrants are issued, the data of the wanted persons can also be registered in the Schengen Information System and the authorities of the member states will be obliged to arrest these persons and extradite them to the Republic of Cyprus in the event that they attempt to enter or are located in the territory of an EU member state.
This, he concluded, “is one of the strongest tools of judicial cooperation of the European Union, based on the principle of mutual recognition of judicial decisions”.
Meanwhile, a member of the Initiative of the Memory of Isaac-Solomos Dr Kyriakos Yiangkou, told CNA that the Initiative was founded in 2008 by an independent group of young people. The Initiative’s main goal, he added, is “to preserve the memory of the heroes Tassos Isaac and Solomos Solomou” and to highlight the message of “dignity, justice and freedom.”
The Initiative, he said, organises various events every year, including the large tour of motorcyclists that takes place before each annual memorial service for the two heroes.
Cyprus, an EU member state since 2004, has been divided by Turkish troops since the military invasion in the summer of 1974. Turkey occupies 37% of Cyprus’ territory.
Source: CNA
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