Cyprus college boss jailed for suspensions
NICOSIA (AFP) – A Cypriot college owner was jailed for 45 days on Thursday for suspending two female British students in protest at NATO’s 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia. Palace College boss Michalis Papachrysostomou was jailed for discriminating against the students purely on the basis of nationality. «Two British female students were suspended for no other reason than that their country of origin took part in the NATO bombings,» said Nicosia district court Judge Harris Poyiadji. Throughout the trial, the college boss said he was proud of what he did and hoped his actions set an example for others to follow. [While suspending purely British students – whose fees were not returned – Papachrysostomou allowed those of half-British and half-Greek parentage to stay on.] The NATO bombing was met with loud protest in Cyprus, although the government sided with the alliance.
