Cyprus deports "radicalized" Austrian as potential danger

Cyprus deported to his native country a man who had converted to Islam and become "radicalized", Justice Minister Ionas Nicolaou said on Friday.

He said authorities had no evidence that the man was involved in terrorism but authorities thought that he presented a potential danger.

Nicolaou corrected a previous statement that the man was of Arab descent, saying further investigation indicated that he was an Austrian who converted to Islam.

The man travelled on Thursday night from Istanbul to an airport in the northern part of Cyprus controlled by Turkish troops, which the island's Greek Cypriot government has declared to be illegal.

Cypriot authorities allow European Union citizens who arrive at the airport to cross into the government controlled region under complex regulations set by the European Union, which considers the occupied territory of Cyprus to be part of its member state but outside the control of the legal government.

Nicolaou said the man had claimed that he came to Cyprus to pray at Hala Sultan Tekke near the city of Larnaca, a mosque Muslims consider to be their second holiest place after Mecca.

He said that the man was put on a plane to Vienna after Austria was briefed about the deportation of its national and the European Police, Europol, was also informed about the move. Endit