Sideris Georgiou, a Jehovah’s Witness, was jailed for four months on 2 March 1992 by Nicosia Military Court. He had been convicted of refusing to perform reservist exercises. A futher three conscientious objectors, Panikos Makri, Aristos Aristidou and Filippos Filippou, all Jehovah’s Witnesses, are due to be tried for conscientious objection during March and April of this year. There is currently no provision for alternative service for conscientious objectors in Cyprus. New legislation relating to alternative service comes into force later this year; however, Amnesty International considers that its provisions fall short of international standards in a number of ways.
