The president of the Voice of Livestock Farmers was threatened at gunpoint by three masked men in a late-night ambush he says was directly linked to his group’s campaigning over the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.
Neofytos Neofytou filed a complaint with authorities late Tuesday night after the incident, which police said occurred at around 11:25pm on the old Delikipos-Lythrodontas road, shortly after a Voice of Livestock Farmers meeting in Choirokoitia.
Three men on two motorcycles blocked his vehicle, one producing a firearm and threatening him while the other two damaged his front windscreen.
Speaking to Sigma, Neofytou said one of the attackers held the gun to his head. He told Alpha Cyprus the attackers were hooded and that their words left no doubt about their motive.
“They were coming from the opposite direction. I slowed down because I could see the motorcycles heading straight for me. Two of them were hitting the window — I didn’t even register what they were hitting it with. The third produced a gun. They were wearing hoods. What the one with the gun said to me was absolutely connected to everything that’s happened with the appearance of the Voice of Livestock Farmers.”
Neofytou told Sigma the attackers warned him to step back from his public appearances on behalf of the Voice of Livestock Farmers regarding the foot-and-mouth outbreak. “For some people, the soup has been spoiled,” he said, adding that he had no intention of backing down.
Police said officers attended the scene before he went to Kofinou to give a statement.
Larnaca CID is investigating on suspicion of threatening violence, illegal possession of a firearm, and malicious damage to property.
