Minister of Justice | An investigation has been called for, the culprits will be held accountable for Saturday’s incidents

An investigation has been called for and the culprits will be held accountable for Saturday’s incidents, said Justice Minister, Emily Yiolitis, speaking after a meeting of the Parliamentary Human Rights Committee.

Answering a question from AKEL MP Eleni Mavrou, the Minister said that “she did not sleep peacefully” neither on Saturday nor on Sunday.

She also mentioned that she contacted Anastasia Dimitriadou, whose eye was injured during Saturday’s incidents, and wished her all the best with the operation she is undergoing today.

“Extreme behaviors have no place in the Police and the investigation that will be carried out will be thorough and the culprits will be held accountable,” said Ms. Yiolitis.

Responding to a reporter’s question, she said that “no instructions for such repression were given.” She added that even though demonstrations are prohibited due to COVID-19, this does not mean that the police should react violently. The Minister also added that unfortunately it is widely believed that everyone is corrupt and acts against our country, but this is not the case.

Asked whether she will resign, the Minister of Justice stated that her resignation is always at the disposal of the President of the Republic.

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AKEL MP Eleni Mavrou stated that violence in the streets of Nicosia was put on the agenda by AKEL MPs, who asked for the issue to be registered for discussion as soon as possible.

She also said that the incidents we witnessed on Saturday afternoon were scary and the fact that we did not mourn human lives was mere chance. She spoke of “unprovoked institutional violence for which no one is responsible”, while “it is obvious that the police attack on civilians was predetermined”. She also added that no one provides an answer about who gave these instructions and an attempt is made to pass the responsibility on to ordinary police officers. Furthermore, she stated that “the rulers are dangerous for democracy and the least the Minister could do today was to assume her responsibilities.”

DIKO MP Christos Orfanidis said that regarding the excessive and disproportionate police violence against the citizens who were protesting against corruption, there are testimonies, photos and videos that confirm what happened. He added that the police investigation can and should be completed in 24 hours.

“Unfortunately, we have witnessed a dangerous deviation from democracy and the behavior of an authoritarian regime. The DISY government must stop using the health crisis as a pretext to silence the negative criticism it receives,” he said.

He added that political responsibility is there and must be assumed with the resignation of the Minister of Justice.

The MP of the Ecologists Movement – Citizens’ Cooperation, George Perdikis, spoke about unacceptable violence exerted by the Police in Saturday’s demonstration and said that they expected the Minister to take political responsibility. “If I were her, I would have resigned,” he said.

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