Police have arrested a fourth suspect in connection with the serious assault of a 47-year-old Turkish Cypriot in Ayia Napa, as investigations continue into the circumstances surrounding the incident. Authorities say findings to date do not indicate that the assault was motivated by hostility towards the Turkish Cypriot community.
All four suspects are tourists holding Swedish passports. Police are investigating the offence of causing grievous bodily harm while continuing efforts to establish the full circumstances and motive behind the attack.
Police investigation
According to police inquiries so far, a heated argument preceded the incident, which occurred in the early hours of Sunday on a central street in Ayia Napa.
The suspects, whose backgrounds are reported as Albanian, Chilean and Iraqi, were due to depart Cyprus on Monday. Three of the suspects were initially arrested and later remanded in custody for eight days by the Famagusta District Court.
A fourth suspect, aged 18, was arrested at the airport on Monday and is expected to appear before court.
Circumstances of the incident
Ayia Napa Mayor Christos Zannettou, citing information provided by officers investigating the case, said a misunderstanding and verbal altercation had taken place between the victim and the suspects outside a well-known nightclub after the consumption of alcohol.
According to the information conveyed to him, one of the suspects punched the 47-year-old man, causing him to fall and strike his head on the ground.
“There does not appear to be anything objectionable relating to the victim’s origin or ethnicity. The differences between them were personal,” Mr Zannettou said.
Victim's condition
At approximately 6am, police officers found the injured man on Agias Mavris Street.
He was taken to Famagusta General Hospital, where doctors determined that he had suffered a brain haemorrhage and a fracture at the base of the skull. Due to the seriousness of his injuries, he was intubated and transferred to Nicosia General Hospital.
His condition is reported to be serious but stable.
Police said the arrests followed the examination of footage obtained from closed-circuit surveillance cameras.
Reactions from the Turkish Cypriot community
The incident received extensive coverage in the Turkish Cypriot media, prompting calls for a full investigation.
Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman said he was closely monitoring both the victim’s condition and the legal process relating to the case.
“We are closely monitoring our citizen’s health condition and the legal process concerning the incident. We will continue to inform the public if there are new developments,” he said, while wishing the injured man a speedy recovery.
Unal Ustel, described in the report as the Turkish Cypriot administration’s prime minister, said that if the investigation were to establish that the attack was motivated by ethnic hatred or hostility towards the Turkish Cypriot community, it could not be regarded as an ordinary criminal offence.
“Such a case would constitute a serious hate crime directed against social peace, the will to coexist and humanitarian values,” he said.
Additional policing measures
Mr Zannettou said the municipality had requested additional policing from the Minister of Justice ahead of the expected arrival of large numbers of young tourists in the coming days.
He said patrols had already been increased and that police presence in the area would be strengthened further.
Previous incidents in Ayia Napa
The assault is the third serious violent incident reported in Ayia Napa in less than a month.
On 17 June, a fight outside a nightclub on Louka Louka Street resulted in a 21-year-old Israeli national allegedly stabbing an individual involved in the altercation and two security guards who intervened. All three injured persons were taken to hospital, while two Israeli nationals were remanded in custody to facilitate investigations.
Several days later, footage circulated online showing another violent confrontation on the streets of Ayia Napa, drawing renewed attention to public order incidents in the resort town.
