Police have issued arrest warrants against five students – three still in enrollment and two graduates – of Limassol’s Technical University of Cyprus (TEPAK) in connection with Wednesday’s homophobic incident there.
And investigations are ongoing so that all those who entered a TEPAK lecture hall while an event organised by Accept-LGBTI was taking place to terrorize participants are arrested, Philenews reports.
A video posted in social media by Accept-LGBTI show a small group of men, dressed in black and wearing masks, entering the lecture room, one of them setting off a fire extinguisher and others heard shouting homophobic hate slogans.
On their way out they are seen smashing and destroying everything in their way.
A 21-year-old student was punched in the face during the incident.
The homophobic attack has prompted a storm of protest and support towards the island’s gay community.
President-elect Nikos Christodoulides strongly condemned it saying “respect for the human rights, diversity and dignity of all citizens is non-negotiable in a democratic state.”
“We focus, with determination, on the effort to combat all forms of discrimination which limit citizens’ rights or cause inequalities,” he added in a written statement.
House President Anita Demetriou also condemned the attack describing it as an anachronistic act that has no place in a modern democratic society.
Moreover, TEPAK Rector Panayiotis Zaphiris described the incident as an “act of terror against the free exchange of ideas.”
