Three 18-year-old tourists — of Albanian, Chilean and Iraqi origin, travelling on Swedish passports — had been due to leave Cyprus this afternoon when police arrested them over the critical injury of a 47-year-old Turkish Cypriot man in Ayia Napa.
Famagusta CID carried out the arrests at dawn today, after evaluating information and analysing CCTV footage. The evidence gathered indicates the incident stemmed from an altercation between the man and the three tourists, despite attempts by some in the occupied north to present it differently. The three are due to appear before Famagusta District Court in Paralimni at noon today for the issuing of detention orders.
According to police sources, the 47-year-old had been in the area with a friend. Around 5am on Sunday the two men separated, and for reasons still under investigation, the injured man began arguing with the tourists, who struck him, causing him to fall and hit his head on the ground. Examinations carried out so far indicate the victim did not know the men arrested.
Police had located the injured Turkish Cypriot man on Agias Mavris street around 6am on Sunday, following a tip-off. He was taken to Famagusta General Hospital, where doctors found he had suffered a cerebral haemorrhage and a fracture at the base of his skull. Given the severity of his condition, he was intubated and transferred to Nicosia General Hospital, where he remains under treatment. His treating doctors describe his condition as serious but stable. Police enquiries had earlier obtained testimony indicating the man was reportedly attacked by a group of unidentified individuals.
Sources said one more person is wanted in connection with the case.
The case has received extensive coverage in the Turkish Cypriot press. Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman said in a statement that he had called for a full investigation into the incident, adding that the “Presidency,” the Turkish Cypriot member of the Bicommunal Technical Committee, the victim’s family and the relevant authorities on both sides had been in contact, and that the “General Directorate of Police” had taken the necessary steps. He said he was closely following both the man’s health and the legal process, and wished him a swift recovery.
The occupied north’s self-styled “prime minister,” Ünal Üstel, struck a more inflammatory tone. He said that if the attack was found to be motivated by ethnic hatred or hostility towards Turkish Cypriot identity, it could not be treated as a simple individual crime, but would constitute a serious hate crime against social peace, the will for coexistence and humanitarian values.
He added that the Turkish Cypriot people were not unprotected, that no attack against Turkish Cypriots would be treated as ordinary, and that the state would confront any action threatening the safety of its citizens, vowing to pursue accountability and justice.
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