Thirty years after the killings of Tasos Isaac and Solomos Solomou in the UN buffer zone at Deryneia, Cyprus, Tasos Isaac’s daughter gave voice to the absence that has shaped her entire life.

Anastasia Isaac, who was born just a few weeks after her father was killed, spoke on Saturday evening at the central memorial ceremony in Paralimni. Her words about the fatherly embrace she never experienced deeply moved the hundreds of attendees, including relatives of the two victims and motorcyclists from Cyprus and Greece.

“Before I was even born, I was deprived of the greatest gift a child can have—the embrace of a father,” Anastasia Isaac said, calling for justice and freedom.

Thirty Years Without Accountability

Isaac’s daughter recalled that her father was unarmed and had run to help another demonstrator when he became trapped in barbed wire and was surrounded by members of the Grey Wolves and personnel of the Turkish Cypriot authorities.

Thirty years later, none of those involved in his killing has been brought before a court.

Anastasia Isaac said that, over the years, her personal grief had become a lifelong struggle for justice, linking her father’s killing with the suffering of the missing, the refugees, and all those who lost their lives as a result of the Turkish invasion and the continuing division of Cyprus.

Also speaking was Andreas Frixou, nephew of Solomos Solomou. He described the empty seat at family gatherings and how he gradually came to realize that his uncle no longer belonged only to the family, but to the collective memory of Cyprus.

He warned that a people who forget their history risk becoming accustomed to injustice and accepting as normal an occupation that has lasted for more than half a century.

Christodoulides’ Commitment on Arrest Warrants

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, who attended the ceremony, announced that authorities have issued 13 national and 5 international arrest warrants in connection with the two killings.

The warrants remain unenforced because the Turkish Cypriot authorities and Turkey have refused to cooperate with the Republic of Cyprus.

Christodoulides pledged that the government would intensify efforts to secure their execution, stressing that the case remains open and that holding both the direct perpetrators and those who ordered or enabled the killings accountable continues to be a fundamental demand of the Cypriot people.

He described the pursuit of justice as a matter of principle and dignity, not an act of revenge, and argued that enforcing the arrest warrants is also a responsibility of the European Union and the wider international community.

The Killings

Twenty-four-year-old Tasos Isaac was killed on 11 August 1996 during an anti-occupation motorcycle demonstration in the UN buffer zone at Deryneia. After becoming trapped in barbed wire, he was brutally beaten with clubs and stones while members of the Turkish occupation forces and the police of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus were present.

Three days later, during Isaac’s funeral, his 26-year-old cousin Solomos Solomou returned to the buffer zone. He attempted to remove the Turkish flag from a flagpole at a guard post and was shot dead.

Both killings were captured by photographers and television cameras, providing clear visual evidence of the circumstances and those involved.

In 2008, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Tasos Isaac and Solomos Solomou had been killed by agents of the Turkish state and found that their right to life had been violated. The Court also concluded that Turkey had failed to conduct an effective investigation into identifying and prosecuting those responsible.

Flame of Remembrance

The ceremony was also attended by Cypriot Parliament Speaker Annita Demetriou, government ministers, representatives of political parties, the Church, the National Guard, the Police, local authorities, and the families of the two victims.

In a symbolic tribute marking the 30th anniversary, 30 motorcyclists carried a Flame of Remembrance from Deryneia—the site of the two killings—to Paralimni.

Paralimni–Deryneia Mayor George Nicolettos said that the hometown of the two young men is still waiting for justice.

Speaking on behalf of the Isaac–Solomou Memorial Initiative, Kyriakos Yiangou called on the Republic of Cyprus to take more decisive action to secure the execution of the international arrest warrants. He stressed that preserving the memory of the victims is not about fostering hatred, but about upholding historical truth and justice.