Former minister among those subjected to police abuse; demonstrators file complaints
Source: in-cyprus.com
Protesters plan to file complaints with Cyprus’s police watchdog after officers used pepper spray to forcibly disperse a demonstration on Thursday evening outside the Foreign Ministry against Israel’s interception of a humanitarian aid flotilla bound for Gaza.
Police said in a statement on Friday that officers intervened using “proportionate force and individual spray” after demonstrators refused to comply with instructions, adding that officers “faced pushing and resistance” whilst attempting to move participants.
Massimiliano Sfregola, a freelance journalist reporting on the demonstration for Italian daily Il Manifesto told in-cyprus that authorities attacked people without warning. Sfregola, who had positioned himself on the pavement near a park to film the police action, was hit by pepper spray despite being on the sidelines. “The spray was used 360 degrees. It was not targeting one person. It was pretty random. The purpose was to create damage to everybody that was there,” he said.
A member of the Global Movement for Gaza Cyprus, which organised the protest, said demonstrators will report alleged abuse by police officers and the use of spray that caused stinging to their eyes and skin. The organisers stressed the demonstration was peaceful and the attack was unprovoked.
Police say demonstrators refused to comply with instructions to move
Corina Demetriou, a spokesperson and lawyer for the group, said police officers cited violation of Cyprus’s new protest law as justification for their intervention. She argued the law does not prohibit emergency, unannounced demonstrations when they concern urgent events, such as Israel’s interception of the humanitarian flotilla.
Demetriou added that demonstrators received no information or warnings about restrictions, nor were they asked to remain in one lane of the road to justify police intervention to remove them.
She said traffic police officers also became victims of pepper spray exposure, according to testimony from demonstrators who sought help to remove the caustic substance.
Former minister among those allegedly subjected to excessive force
Demetriou noted that amongst those allegedly subjected to excessive force was Neoklis Sylikiotis, a former minister, member of parliament and MEP, and AKEL party official. She suggested officers who acted may not have recognised him, adding this could be because “he was not of Cypriot origin”, as some witnesses reported police speaking broken Greek or English.
“We will file complaints with ADIPA [Independent Authority for the Investigation of Allegations and Complaints Against the Police], without much hope, because we haven’t had the best experience,” Demetriou said. She added that after complaints were made about police conduct at other demonstrations, protesters never received investigation findings despite requesting them.
“For the honour of the institutions we will complain, because institutions must be monitored, otherwise they become inactive and atrophy,” she said.
House human rights committee to examine protest law next week
The issue will be addressed at Monday’s session of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, which will examine an OSCE report concerning the new protest law, Demetriou said. “I have more confidence in parliament to act effectively than in ADIPA,” she concluded.
In a statement issued on Friday, protest organisers rejected “the police narrative that it simply sought to restore vehicle traffic”, noting that “on a day of global mobilisations for Gaza, we demand authorities respect the constitutionally guaranteed right to protest and dispel any doubt about their neutrality”.
Condemning “the disproportionate and violent police reaction”, organisers cited “unprovoked acts of violence suffered by demonstrators” and “indiscriminate use of chemical irritant sprays against unarmed participants”, describing this as “serious abuse of power” whilst emphasising the demonstration’s peaceful character.
“Police did not conduct any risk assessment, endangering the safety of defenceless people, including children and elderly persons, and acted autonomously without communication with organisers and without expressing its intention to escalate intervention, surprising everyone, as documented in videos circulating on social media,” the statement added.
“Such acts not only endanger citizens’ safety but also undermine the foundations of trust between civil society and public authorities,” they said.
Nikos Loizides, president of the Isotita trade union’s police branch, said in comments on Friday that “if anyone believes disproportionate force was used, they have the right to submit their complaints in writing”.
He added that citizens have the right to demonstrate and that police do not handle protests based on their content but on safety criteria. Asked about the unprovoked violence, he said demonstrators were asked to move to the pavement when they were outside the Foreign Ministry.
He said there are no foreign nationals in the police force.
The Cyprus News Agency sought comment from both the justice minister and the police, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
(With information from the Cyprus News Agency)
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