“Go back to your country”: complaint of a Pakistani man against a racist examiner in the Cyprus Transport Department ignored for five years

The Cyprus Ombudswoman has published a report on a high-profile complaint that the Department of Road Transport failed to examine for almost five years. According to the complainant, a Pakistani national, a driving examiner refused to allow him to take the practical test and said: “Get out of my office and my country. Go back to your homeland. I won’t give you anything.”

The complaint was filed on 19 September 2020. The man claimed that during the theory test the inspector publicly asked him where he was from, and upon hearing “Pakistan”, said he did not approve of granting driving licences to foreigners. Despite correct answers, the examiner declared that the candidate had “failed” the test and refused to allow him to proceed to the road exam. He also said that if the man booked again, he should make sure another inspector conducted the exam — otherwise the result “would be the same”.

After the exam, according to the complainant, the inspector repeated the rude phrase: “Leave my office and my country.”

The Ombudswoman sent the first letter to the department on 22 October 2020, followed by eight reminders, the last one in September 2024. No reply came. Only after an official notice summoning the director for questioning did the service respond — on 30 May 2025, that is, five years and 11 letters later.

In its reply, the department said that it was “impossible” to conduct an investigation because too much time had passed, but stated that the accused examiner was “one of the most experienced”, and exam pass statistics “do not indicate discrimination”.

However, the Ombudswoman’s report states that the inability to investigate is the department’s own fault, as it ignored the requests. This is considered a violation of the law and disrespect towards the Ombudsman institution and citizens.

Although the investigation could not confirm or refute the allegations, the department’s prolonged silence and lack of direct denial of the racist remarks raise serious doubts about the inspector’s integrity, noted Ombudswoman Maria Stylianou-Lottides.

She recommends strengthening internal complaint-handling procedures to ensure objectivity, transparency and equal treatment for all candidates — regardless of their origin.