The remains of seven missing persons have been found and 20 new identifications made so far in 2026, Presidential Commissioner Marios Hartsiotis told relatives of the missing.
He was speaking to the 100-member advisory body of the Pancyprian Organisation of Relatives of Undeclared Prisoners and Missing Persons. He said that of the 1,619 missing persons, 859 have been identified and the fate of 760 has yet to be established. Forty of the 77 missing Greek nationals have been identified, and more results are expected before the end of the year.
Opposition parliament member Nikos Kettiros, who chairs the relevant parliamentary committee, told the meeting he was particularly pleased with how quickly Hartsiotis had responded to issues raised with him since taking office, and with the results of his work.
The cabinet has approved a building for a permanent anthropological laboratory of the Republic of Cyprus. Work is also under way on an ossuary, a meeting place for relatives and a small church, as well as an official register of the children of the missing.
One million euros has been set aside for specialised genetic testing on chemically impregnated bones of Greek nationals killed in action or missing. The tests began in June at the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, using massively parallel sequencing.
Hartsiotis meets relatives’ organisations in Cyprus and Greece, usually once a month, and sees families who ask for updates on their own cases. Families now have access to their loved ones’ files.
From 2026, the work done will be presented publicly every year, so that families and the public know what has been achieved and what comes next. His priority, he says, is to speed up the search as much as possible and give every family the answer it is waiting for.
Hartsiotis visited Greece in March and September. There, he and Greek Deputy Minister of National Defence Athanasios Davakis met families of missing Greek nationals in person. Cases such as that of the missing from Assia are also being pushed at European level.
