On July 15^th, 1974, Turkey invaded Cyprus and occupied 36,3% of the land of the sovereign territory of the Republic.  The consequences of Turkeys´ illegal aggression were devastating and are still felt today, despite the fact that Cyprus is a member of the European Union, there are mass violations of human rights within the Cypriot territory.

The Cypriot government filed applications to the European Commission on Human Rights on September 17^th, 1974 as well as on March 12^th, 1975.  The Commission found Turkey guilty for violating six articles of the European Convention of Human Rights among which murder, rape and looting by its army in Cyprus during and after the Turkish invasion during the summer of 1974.