The Independent Authority for the Investigation of Allegations and Complaints Against the Police (IAIACAP) is expected to appoint two criminal investigators tomorrow to examine the circumstances surrounding the death of Anisur Rahman in Limassol.
The man died after falling from the fifth floor of an apartment building during a migrant raid on April 10.
According to philenews, a decision by the Authority last week to seek the Attorney General’s approval for independent investigators was met with a separate complaint from non-governmental organisation KISA, also requesting a criminal investigation.
Sources indicate that the Attorney General has approved the request.
The two investigators will probe events leading to the man’s death.
The IAIACAP has selected a lawyer and a former police officer from their roster to head the investigation.
As a result of this development, the ongoing police investigation by the Limassol Crime Investigation Department (CID) has been suspended. All statements and evidence collected must be handed over to the newly appointed criminal investigators.
The investigation will focus on the apartment’s living conditions, the potential illegal employment of the victim, and the reasons behind the police conducting a search without a warrant.
Case background
Early on Wednesday, April 10, officers raided an apartment on the fifth floor of a building in Limassol, acting on a tip about undocumented migrants living there.
Two men, both foreign nationals, attempted to escape, jumping from the window.
The fall killed 19-year-old Anisur Rahman, a worker from Bangladesh, while the other man suffered severe injuries, leading to his hospitalisation.
Police said that two officers from the Aliens and Immigration unit entered the apartment after knocking on the door and obtaining the consent of the residents.
This account has been disputed in a statement given to in-cyprus and philenews by K.S., a person who was living in the apartment and was an eyewitness to the police raid, who noted “On Wednesday there were 15 people without uniforms, they broke the door in the morning and punched the person standing next to the door. Then they punched another person”.
K.S. also said that the flatmates were forced to sign voluntary return requests.
Anti-racist organisation KISA has also questioned the version of events offered by the police over the raid, referring to eyewitnesses stating that the police entered forcefully into the apartment without the occupants’ consent.
AKEL has called upon the Justice Minister and the Police Chief to clarify several key issues surrounding the event, including adherence to legal protocols during the police search and whether force was exercised.
Maria Stylianou Lottides, the Commissioner for Administration and Human Rights Protection, has launched an independent inquiry to ascertain the events leading to the young man’s death.
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