During a recent protest for Gaza, Italian journalist Massimiliano Sfregola described the police violence in Nicosia as an unprovoked attack, highlighting the disproportionate use of force against peaceful demonstrators.
Photo: in-cyprus.philenews.com
Sfregola, who was reporting for the Italian daily Il Manifesto, shared his account of the events that transpired outside Cyprus’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday. He noted that the police response was characterised by a complete absence of communication with the demonstrators and an alarming escalation of violence.
Photo: in-cyprus.philenews.com
Police violence: A Peaceful Gathering Disrupted
The demonstration was organised in response to Israel’s interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a peaceful event attended by citizens concerned about the situation in Gaza. Sfregola remarked, “There were no potentially at-risk groups involved. There were no banners or chants that could have been antisemitic. There was absolutely nothing. It was one of the softest demonstrations in terms of numbers, and it was full of kids and elderly people.”
As the protest unfolded, attendees listened to speeches and statements, fostering an atmosphere of calm. However, this tranquility was suddenly shattered by the arrival of officers from the Rapid Response Motorised Unit (MMAD). “Out of the blue, we saw the special unit arriving. Everybody was asking, ‘Why the hell is this special unit coming?'” Sfregola recalled.
Unjustified Use of Force
According to the journalist, the most provocative action from demonstrators was merely turning towards the police line and chanting “Free Palestine” while waving Palestinian flags. This minor act of defiance did not warrant the aggressive police intervention that followed. Sfregola described the officers as being well-equipped with anti-riot gear but lacking basic crowd management tools such as a megaphone to communicate with the crowd.
Sfregola himself was caught in the chaos, experiencing the effects of pepper spray used indiscriminately by police. “The spray was used 360 degrees. It was not targeting one person. It was pretty random. The purpose was to create damage to everybody that was there,” he explained. He had positioned himself on the pavement, yet still found himself affected by the spray.
Panic and Confusion Amidst the Chaos
The situation quickly devolved into panic as demonstrators began to fall to the ground, struggling to cope with the effects of the pepper spray. “You saw people falling on the floor, touching their eyes. No one knew what to do. People were crying. I saw elderly people who were desperate because they’d started having panic attacks,” Sfregola recounted. Amid the chaos, he assisted a young woman who had collapsed from a panic attack, bringing her to safety.
Concerns Over Police Accountability
Following the police’s aggressive actions, the demonstrators transitioned into a sit-in, signalling their protest against the police violence. Sfregola pointed out the lack of justification for the police’s use of force, stating, “Nothing justified the use of violence just to clear the road to let cars go, because there’d been no communication whatsoever.”
Other journalists, including Beisan Ibraheem from the Dialogos media group, also faced violence at the hands of the police during the protest. The Cyprus Journalists Union condemned the assault on Ibraheem, who identified herself as a journalist multiple times to no avail.
Demands for Accountability
In light of the events, Sfregola called for accountability, stressing that the principle of proportionality in police responses is enshrined in European human rights law. He remarked, “You can’t attack a demonstration with what is basically civil society. If you have a peaceful demonstration with kids and elderly people, you can’t attack it with such force.”
As the aftermath of the incident continues to unfold, the left-wing opposition party AKEL has called for a new demonstration outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to protest police brutality, underscoring the community’s demand for answers and accountability.
