In a public statement, anti-racist organisation KISA disputes the version of events offered by the police over the Limassol raid that led to the death of a migrant worker.
Early on Wednesday, officers from the Alien and Immigration Service arrived at an apartment on the fifth floor of a building in Limassol, acting on a tip about undocumented migrants living there.
According to reports, the police raided the apartment to check for the occupants’ residence status. 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.
The remaining ten occupants were taken into custody.
Asked to comment on the incident on Wednesday, Lefteris Kyriakou, head of the Limassol Crime Investigation Department (CID), stated “The police officers visited the apartment, knocked on the door, and entered the residence”.
Responding to reports that the police did not have a search warrant, Kyriakou also told CNA that this was not legally necessary, drawing a comparison to population registration visits by officials.
“It is similar to when officials from the Population Archive Department visit residences for population registration. They knock on doors, and with the occupant’s consent, proceed with the registration,” he noted.
However, according to KISA’s statement police officers forcefully breached the apartment door, entering the apartment without the occupants’ consent.
“According to eyewitnesses, around 6:00 in the early hours of April 10th, a large group of members of the Alien and Immigration Service of the Police initially breached the main entrance of the apartment where the immigrants were residing and began making arrests” KISA’s statement reads.
“Some police officers proceeded to the bedrooms and forcibly opened any locked doors. In one of these rooms, 24-year-old Anisur Mohammad was sleeping with another compatriot” the statement continues.
“Upon waking up from the violent entry of the police, possibly abruptly and in a state of panic, he opened the window of his bedroom on the 5th floor of the apartment building and jumped out, resulting in his immediate death when he hit the ground”, the statement further notes.
KISA further highlights that all occupants are presently under arrest, including the hospitalized man, “in violation of the provisions of the legislation regarding the detention of irregular immigrants as a last resort and after a warning for voluntary departure from Cyprus”.
It further accuses the police of misleading public opinion “in order to divert attention from any responsibilities and offences that arose during the specific operation”.
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.
A protest for the death of Anisur Mohammad will be held today in Limassol at 12:00, midday, opposite the main building of the Electrical Authority of Cyprus (AHK), next to the church of Agia Napa.
An online petition has further been launched, calling for an end to racial discrimination and unlawful actions against migrants in Cyprus.
