Cyprus-Forum.com

[YFred]

New demo against police violence
By Stefanos Evripidou

THE CITIZENS’ Movement ALERT is calling on all democratic citizens across the island to march against the “judicial whitewash of arbitrary police violence” tomorrow.

The Movement, set up following the acquittal of ten police officers regarding the beating of two students, has vowed to continue its struggle for justice for all people living in Cyprus.

ALERT makes reference to the fact that the ten were acquitted because the video evidence implicating them “which every Cypriot citizen saw on their television screens” was deemed unreliable.

“When broken cameras record traffic violations, the citizen is convicted. When a working camera records the crimes of police, the police are acquitted,” said an ALERT statement.

Now that the state prosecution’s appeal of the case is about to be heard, ALERT is calling on all those against police arbitrariness and the judiciary’s whitewash of police violence to gather at 11am at Eleftheria Square in Nicosia tomorrow.

“The appeal decision will examine the credibility of the judiciary in Cyprus, or better still, what’s left of it after the acquittal of the ten,” said ALERT.

The Movement further noted that it would continue its campaign regardless since the case of the two students was not an isolated incident of arbitrary police violence.

“There is a series of similar cases. When a citizen complains to the police of such incidents, he usually ends up being accused of violent behaviour towards police. There are specific cases of outrageous convictions against citizens who made such complaints and ended up in prison.

“ALERT will not accept a banana democracy. It will defend the democratic and human rights of everybody living in Cyprus, whether they are Cypriot citizens or migrants,” said the statement.

Arrangements are being made for transport to Nicosia from other towns.

For more information, from Nicosia call 99583947, Larnaca 99492018, Paphos 99683757 and Limassol 9932311.



Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2009