Hate messages directed towards the LGBTQIA+ community are on the rise, advocacy group Accept Cyprus said in a post on Facebook.
The organisation shared a screenshot with a large number of hate comments, some of them containing death threats, and warned that if the state does not act, we will “mourn victims.”
“These are the results of fake news and the rhetoric of hatred from politicians and public figures,” Accept said.
Accept urges the police, the Attorney General, and the Commissioner for Administration and the Protection of Human Rights to intervene, while also describing the situation as unchecked, citing an increase in hatred with the tolerance of authorities.
“We have collected only a few comments that threaten to kill us, turn us into soap, shoot us, spray us, run us over with vehicles, curse us, wish death upon us, create an ‘Omega’ group to eliminate us, and more,” stated Accept in their post.
“We draw attention to the Cyprus Police, the Attorney General, and the Commissioner for Administration and Protection of Human Rights – Cyprus Ombudsman! We demand public statements before we mourn victims. Currently, the situation is out of control,” they emphasised.
“At the same time, we encourage the LGBTQ+ community and our allies, whenever they identify hate comments and threats, to report them to the Electronic Crime Prosecution Service: Email: [email protected] Web page: cyberalert.cy, where there is a platform for submitting complaints,” they further highlighted.
“Finally, we inform everyone that we will not back down in the face of any threat. We will continue to fight for fundamental (for heterosexuals) human rights, no matter how much hatred increases with the tolerance of authorities,” Accept concluded.
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