Police have admitted to using force and pepper spray against demonstrators during a protest outside the Foreign Ministry, following widespread public criticism of officers’ conduct during the incident.
Police defended the violence, claiming demonstrators blocked traffic and resisted dispersal orders. Eyewitnesses and journalists present have challenged the police’s account.
The force said in a Friday statement that officers deployed “proportionate force” and pepper spray after protesters “refused repeated instructions to clear roadways and physically resisted attempts to disperse them”.
“Members of our force intervened using proportionate force and individual spray after being pushed and resisted whilst attempting to push back participants,” the statement said.
However, demonstrator Andrianos Charalambous told state television that police directed protesters into the roadway before the confrontation escalated.
“The police […] told us to go on the road,” Charalambous said. “They themselves stopped the cars and turned them back”.
Charalambous, who was hospitalised with a shoulder injury, said demonstrators had planned to remain on the pavement and denied any provocation. “There was no provocation; there was an attack,” he said.
Police account disputed
The demonstration, organised by several pro-Palestinian groups, drew hundreds of participants protesting Cyprus’s response to Israel’s interception of the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla.
Police said the gathering was not pre-notified, though such notification is not legally required.
Authorities said demonstrators “occupied both traffic lanes, blocking vehicular movement in the wider area and placing themselves at risk,” and that officers “attempted to locate an organiser to coordinate with the responsible policing commander but were unable to identify anyone in charge”.
Police said they issued “repeated requests” for protesters to move onto pavements before deploying riot units when demonstrators refused compliance.
However, Andrianos Charalambous said no such warnings were issued. “They made no announcement and didn’t ask us to clear the road. They came; someone gave a shout and turned back to those lined up, and they simply attacked,” he said, adding that videos documented the sequence of events.
Massimiliano Sfregola, a freelance journalist reporting for Italian daily Il Manifesto, corroborated that account. “They didn’t attempt any kind of communication,” Sfregola said. “They didn’t give any communication like, ‘Clear the streets. We’re going to start an action.’ Nothing. They started out of the blue”.
Journalist injured – Chemical agent questioned
Beisan Ibraheem, a reporter for the Dialogos media group, was injured during the police action, prompting condemnation from the Cyprus Journalists Union.
The union said Ibraheem identified herself as a journalist four times but was pushed and thrown to the ground twice while pepper spray was used against her.
Sfregola, who was also affected by pepper spray despite standing on the pavement, said the chemical agent was deployed indiscriminately.
“The spray was used 360 degrees. It was not targeting one person. It was pretty random,” he said, adding that some protesters had “the first layer of skin peeled off” from exposure.
The journalist described the gathering as peaceful, consisting primarily of families and elderly people. “It was one of the softest demonstrations in terms of numbers, and it was full of kids and elderly people,” he said.
Police emphasised their “absolute respect for the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression,” while noting these rights “must be exercised in a manner that does not affect the rights of third parties, does not endanger human lives, and does not disturb public order and safety”.
Sfregola questioned the proportionality of the response. “You can’t attack a demonstration with what is basically civil society,” he said, citing European Convention on Human Rights provisions on proportionate force.
Left-wing opposition party AKEL called for a new demonstration outside the Foreign Ministry on Friday at 6 p.m. to protest police conduct.
