Seventeen members of the Cyprus University of Technology (TEPAK) have issued a statement condemning the recent explosive attack on artist Giorgos Gavriel’s home and calling on political and social institutions to defend freedom of expression.
The statement follows a public debate over Gavriel’s works, the cancellation of his exhibition at a Paphos gallery after the owner received threats, and the recent attack with explosive devices on the artist’s home.
The academics invoked Article 19 of the Cyprus Constitution, which states that “everyone has the right to freedom of speech and expression in any manner”. The constitution limits this freedom only when there is “danger to security of the Republic or constitutional order or public safety or public order or public health or public morals”.
Artistic activity does not harm public morals
The signatories argued that artistic activity not only does not harm public morals, but can contribute to cultivating critical thinking, even through questioning dominant national or religious narratives.
“We therefore consider unjustified any claims about harm to public morals from the publication or exhibition of the specific artworks of Giorgos Gavriel,” they stated.
The academics called on representatives of political and social institutions, organisations and citizens to condemn what they described as “fascist and criminal actions” and to refrain from censorial statements that constitute “a dangerous legacy to state life”.
“We emphasise that what is at stake does not concern the artist’s works, but the very identity of the state as a liberal democracy,” they wrote.
Escalation from censorship to violence
The attack follows a rapid escalation of hostility toward Gavriel and the owner of the Blue Iris Gallery in Paphos, where his exhibition, Antisystemic Art, was abruptly cancelled on Sunday. The gallery owner reportedly received multiple death threats and warnings that his property would be destroyed unless the works—which depict religious and political figures in provocative contexts—were removed.
Political tension has surrounded Gavriel for years, but reached a boiling point last week after Efthymios Diplaros, the Deputy President of DISY, shared a collage of Gavriel’s work on social media, labelling it “crude blasphemy.” The artist has since accused Diplaros of spreading “fake news” by creating a doctored image to incite public anger, while the far-right ELAM party formally requested that the Police Chief initiate criminal proceedings against the painter for “insulting the Orthodox faith.”
University has faced fascist violence before
Cyprus University of Technology has been the target of far-right violence before. In May 2017, lawyer Panayiotis Kleovoulou led around 20 hooded, black-clad men who attacked a left-wing event at the university, carrying wooden clubs and throwing stones. At least four people were injured in the attack on the gathering organised by groups discussing the left’s role in Cyprus reunification.
Kleovoulou, who ran for MEP with far-right party ELAM in 2014 and led the National Liberation Movement, personally grabbed a witness by the neck and punched him. He was sentenced to 10 months in prison in June 2023, with the judge stating that “behaviour of this kind has no place in a democratic society”. The Supreme Court later reduced his sentence to six months.
In February 2023, at least eight hooded individuals attacked students holding a “Rainbow Meeting” on LGBTI issues at the university. The attackers used a fire extinguisher to spray students, shouted homophobic slurs and physically assaulted attendees, with one student hospitalised after being punched in the face. Five people were arrested but later released.
Accept-LGBTI Cyprus said the attackers were “far-right elements”, whilst ELAM was the only political party that did not condemn the attack. University rector Panayiotis Zaphiris, one of the signatories of the current Gavriel statement, called that incident an “assault on free movement of ideas and opinions in a university”.
Signatories:
Antonis Danos, Associate Professor; Evripides Zantides, Professor; Panagiotis Zaphiris, Professor; Dimitrios Kargotis, Assistant Professor; Kyriakos Kousoulidis, Special Teaching Staff; Marinos Koutsomichalis, Assistant Professor; Efi Kyprianidou, Associate Professor; Georgios Markou, Assistant Professor; Angelos Panagides, Special Teaching Staff; Omiros Panagides, Assistant Professor; Aspasia Papadima, Associate Professor; Vicky Perikleous, Assistant Professor; Andreas Savva, Assistant Professor; Theopisti Stylianou, Professor; Nikos Synnos, Associate Professor; Giannis Christides, Associate Professor; Eva Korea, Associate Professor.
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