An explosive device was detonated in Nicosia today outside the offices of KISA, a human rights watchdog and anti-racist organisation supporting migrants’ rights in Cyprus.
According to the police, the explosion occurred at 02:30 a.m., causing damage to the facade of the building.
A team from the Nicosia Crime Investigations Department arrived at the scene, determining that the explosion resulted from the detonation of an improvised explosive device.
Evidence was collected for forensic examinations. Currently, there are no leads regarding the suspects, police said.
In statements to in-cyprus and Phileleftheros, KISA president Doros Polykarpou said that the explosive device was placed right outside his office, destroying computers and photocopiers among other things.
Polykarpou said that in recent years he had been the recipient of numerous death threats for his work on immigration and anti-racism “from various far-right, nationalist and racist groups,” for which he filed complaints with the police.
However, “for years there has been no prosecution, no protection,” he said. “Some people think that since the state does nothing, we will take the law into our own hands.”
Among other things, he said, someone told him in person that “your days are numbered” while others threatened to rape his family.
“In our statements with the police, we had said that it is only a matter of time before one of us is killed,” he added.
“Society has become so poisoned that no one is thinking maturely and calmly. When the state and the media are poisoning society daily, the police cannot do much,” he said, stressing that KISA has been targeted in public discourse.
The Nicosia CID is investigating the case.
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