Romanian national detained in Cyprus; family, employer apply for consular assistance

Romania's Foreign Ministry (MAE) has reported that a Romanian national, a sailor on a ship in the port of Vassilikos, Cyprus, has been detained by the Cypriot authorities. According to a MAE press statement, the Romanian Embassy in Nicosia was notified on Tuesday about this fact. According to preliminary info obtained by the diplomatic mission, the Romanian national was detained under an existing registration/notification on his name in the records of the Cypriot authorities. The notification was made by a member of the crew, and the embassy subsequently received requests for consular assistance both from the family of the Romanian national and from his employer, according to MAE. Embassy officials urgently approached the local authorities for additional information regarding the case and to contact the Romanian national directly, a request made on the same day. On Wednesday morning, an official of the diplomatic mission went to the place of detention of the Romanian nationals to visit him and to meet Cypriot authorities investigating the case. MAE says officials of the Romanian Embassy in Nicosia have kept in touch with the relevant local authorities, with the family of the detainee, as well as with officials of the companies involved, being prepared to provide additional consular assistance that meets its legal competences. AGERPRES (RO - author: Oana Ghita, editor: Catalin Alexandru; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Cristina Zaharia)