Civil society groups are demanding an independent investigation into the death of 24-year-old Pakistani migrant Shoaib Khan, who was killed by police in January, according to a statement released by a coalition of human rights organisations.
Khan was shot in the back on January 6 while sitting in a car near the buffer zone in the village of Potamia.
His body was discovered two hours later in an empty plot in Akropolis, Nicosia, initially classified as a natural death before a post-mortem examination revealed a police bullet in his body.
Activists have raised concerns about what they describe as “an attempt at a cover-up” by Cypriot authorities, citing the initial misclassification of death, contradictory police statements, and the fact that officers involved were not suspended despite giving conflicting accounts.
Khan had come to Cyprus from Pakistan to support his family of 11, including five sisters. According to the statement, he worked in the informal sector at hotels in Ayia Napa, construction sites and kitchens.
Without legal status, he crossed between the occupied north and Republic-controlled areas for work and to visit acquaintances.
The coalition in its statement said “we refuse to measure Shoaib’s worth by his legal status or his labor. His life mattered and his murder matters. We mourn for him, for the weight he carried, and for all those crushed by the violence of borders. We demand justice from the state that took his life and then tried to bury the truth”.
The Justice for Shoaib Khan Initiative and other organisations, including KISA (Action for Equality, Support, Antiracism), afoa, the Cyprus Regional Organising Committee of the Industrial Workers of the World, Collective Aid and the Border Violence Monitoring Network, have issued a statement demanding an official inquest into Khan’s death, an independent investigation into police liability, coverage of repatriation costs, and full access to investigation findings for the family.
Khan’s brother has travelled to Cyprus to retrieve his body and seek justice but faces “bureaucratic roadblocks and intransparency by the authorities,” according to the statement.
The killing occurred near the buffer zone near Potamia. Initial police reports indicated the shooting occurred while officers attempted to stop a vehicle believed to be involved in a smuggling operation.
However, forensic findings suggesting the man was shot in the back have raised questions and contradicted the initial police account.
Moreover, an initial autopsy of the man’s body ruled out foul play. A second autopsy, performed a few days later, found a 9mm bullet lodged in the man’s back. State coroner Dr Nicolas Charalambous who performed the fist autopsy has been suspended.
The coalition argues that Khan’s death is not an isolated incident but part of a pattern of violence against migrants in Cyprus, referencing mass imprisonment of migrants, pushbacks at sea, and the deaths of other migrants including Anisur Rahman and victims of a shipwreck on May 17.
The police killings of migrants come in the backdrop of multiple attacks against migrant delivery workers across Cyprus, raising concerns about increasing racism and intolerance in local society.
In August and September 2023, far-right groups organised repeated attacks against migrants and migrant-owned businesses in Paphos and Limassol.
