NICOSIA - A British couple living in the breakaway north of divided Cyprus lost an appeal Tuesday against a court decision to demolish their retirement home as it was illegally built on Greek Cypriot property.
The decision has wider legal ramifications, with thousands of Britons and other EU nationals having bought land in Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus that originally belonged to Greek Cypriots.
Lawyers for Linda and David Orams had argued that the property was bought in good faith, but this was done without the owner's consent, a Greek Cypriot refugee now living in the Cyprus government-controlled south of the island.
But the court upheld a November ruling that the home be demolished and damages be paid to owner Meletis Apostolides, citing decisions by the European Court of Human Rights which has ruled that Greek Cypriot refugees are "the only true and lawful owners" of their land.
The Orams plan to appeal however, according to their legal team.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied the northern third of the island following a Greek Cypriot coup seeking to unite the island with Greece.
In 1974, some 200,000 Greek Cypriots fled their homes in the north, making property rights a key element in any move to reunify the divided island.
A divided Cyprus joined the European Union in May last year after the failure of a reunification plan drawn up by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was declared in 1983 but is recognised only by Turkey.
04/19/2005 16:43 GMT