The case of the German real estate agent Ewa Isabella Künzel is now also getting much more attention in Germany. At the weekend, the BILD newspaper picked up on the story of the German, who has been in custody in the Republic of Cyprus since July 2024. The background is her business activities in the real estate sector in the Turkish-controlled north of the island.

Real estate investment becomes a nightmare

According to BILD, Künzel first became aware of real estate offers in Northern Cyprus and later began to advertise projects there. With money from her retirement provision, she is also said to have bought an apartment in the north of the island herself.

What was originally intended as an investment for the future eventually turned into a legal nightmare for the German.

The authorities of the Republic of Cyprus accuse it of having advertised and marketed real estate which, in the Republic's view, legally belongs to Greek Cypriot owners.

arrest A conversation during a flight to Cyprus on July 7, 2024 apparently played a decisive role.

Künzel is said to have talked to her neighbor about real estate transactions in the north. According to court documents, this passenger was Geadis Geadi, a politician from the ELAM party and member of the European Parliament.

After her arrival, Künzel was arrested at Larnaca Airport. Since then, she has been in custody and denies the allegations made against her.

In Germany, the exceptionally long duration of imprisonment receives special attention. Künzel has now been in the central prison of Nicosia for more than two years, although the proceedings have not yet been legally concluded.

She also made serious allegations to BILD regarding her prison conditions. Among other things, it reports threats, searches, abuse and temporary difficulties in accessing medicines.

These are Künzel's own descriptions. A Cypriot court did not see sufficient medical evidence in an earlier examination that her health was specifically endangered by her continued detention.

question of how evidence against the German was obtained is of additional explosiveness.

A court in Nicosia found that her constitutional rights had been violated during the search of her luggage and the seizure of certain items. Some of the evidence obtained in this way was classified as inadmissible.

The defense also objected, among other things, to the acquisition of digital evidence from Germany, translations and European investigation orders. However, other objections and requests for release were rejected by the Cypriot courts.

In the meantime, the case has also reached a diplomatic dimension. According to current media reports, the German embassy in Nicosia is said to have protested clearly to the Cypriot authorities and demanded Künzel's release.

This means that a trial that has been reported on in Cyprus for some time has finally arrived in the German public.