In a decision with important ramifications for peace talks on the divided island of Cyprus, a British court ruled Tuesday that a British couple could not keep their holiday villa in northern Cyprus. The court of appeal decision upheld an earlier European Court of Justice ruling that will return the disputed property to Meletis Apostolides, whose Greek Cypriot family was forced to leave the northern part of the island in 1974 after the Turkish invasion. The ruling establishes that he is the rightful owner of the property, which belonged to his family before the invasion, and that David and Linda Orams have to demolish the villa they built on the land and abandon their claim to the property they purchased in 2002. 'I feel good but not because someone else is sad,' Apostolides told a press conference after his victory. 'I would like to have my property back because it is my human right.' He said the Orams knew they faced a possible legal challenge when they purchased the property. The British couple says they bought the property 'in good faith.' The decision is a setback for thousands of other people -- mostly Britons -- who have bought disputed property in northern Cyprus, which was abandoned by many Greek Cypriots during the bloody fighting. The island is split into a Greek Cypriot south and a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north. Marian Stokes, founder of the Homebuyers' Pressure Group, said property owners in northern Cyprus are 'disappointed and shocked' at the ruling. 'This has paved the way for the political situation to be one-sided -- it gives the Greek Cypriots an advantage,' said the 55-year-old native of Dublin, Ireland. Despite the ruling, Stokes said the estimated 22,000 foreign property owners in the north aren't ready to give up their homes. 'People here, they don't think they've done anything wrong,' she said. 'They don't want to leave.' She said the ruling's full impact is still unclear and foreign owners were waiting for advice from the Turkish Cypriot government, which is recognized only by Turkey. 'People hope this is an isolated case,' she said. Resolving disputes over property is proving to be a difficult hurdle in the goal of reaching an overall peace deal for the island. The two sides remain far apart on questions involving compensation, land swaps and other financial matters. Cyprus President Dimitris Christofias said the ruling is a rejection of the Turkish Cypriot position on the property dispute. 'The ruling has great legal and political significance,' he said. 'Legal in that the British court ruled on the basis of the laws and regulations of the European Union and the Council of Europe's human rights convention, and political in that it answers the other side, which wants to deny the right to property.' David Orams, who lives in Hove, 60 miles (100 kilometers) south of London, said he and his wife 'unwittingly became entangled' in the complex dispute when they spent much of their life savings building the villa in northern Cyprus. The legal process has taken more than five years. 'The ruling is very disappointing and a blow to us,' he said. 'But we will not let it ruin our lives. We will study the judgment and consider whether there is anything further to be done. Failing that, we will have to take steps as far as possible, given the political situation, to comply with the judgment.' ------ Associated Press Writers Menelaos Hadjicostis in Cyprus and Priyal Sanghavi in London contributed to this report 