British release Cypriot MEP

The British army in Cyprus released a member of the European Parliament on health grounds today after he went on a hunger strike…

The British army in Cyprus released a member of the European Parliament on health grounds today after he went on a hunger strike earlier this week.

Marios Matsakis, an MEP for Cyprus, was arrested on April 12th for alleged offences committed on British military territory in Cyprus last year.

He refused to pay a bond and was sent to jail, where he started a hunger strike.

Doctors became concerned when he stopped taking water, a spokesman for the British bases said. Mr Matsakis was on medication for an unspecified health condition.

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"Our doctor said he did not want to be responsible for his health deteriorating," the bases spokesman said.

Britain has kept two military bases on Cyprus since granting the east Mediterranean island independence in 1960.

The Cypriot government had lodged strong protests with Britain over the arrest.

Mr Matsakis has refused to recognise British jurisdiction in the bases, and has been arrested about a dozen times.

The latest incident was triggered when he allegedly went on a spray-painting spree of police cars on the British bases a year ago.

As an MEP, Mr Matsakis enjoys parliamentary immunity in Cyprus and other EU states, though not in the British bases area.

The bases, 98 square miles of Cypriot territory, are under separate jurisdiction with their own rules and regulations.