K.S., a person who was living in the apartment and was an eyewitness to the police raid that resulted in 19-year-old Anisur Rahman falling to his death, has refuted the version of events presented by the police.
Lefteris Kyriakou, head of the Limassol Crime Investigation Department, stated on Wednesday that “police officers visited the apartment, knocked on the door, and entered the residence”.
The police did not have a search warrant. Kyriakou told CNA that this was not legally necessary, drawing a comparison to population registration visits by officials.
In contrast, K.S., who was an eyewitness to the police raid and is currently held at the Menogeia Detention Center, told philenews and in-cyprus that “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. One person managed to escape”.
“They arrested us and now I am in Menogeia waiting for deportation as soon as possible, they made us sign voluntary returns requests” K.S. continues.
“Menogeia is like a prison and I want to leave Cyprus as soon as possible. I need protection. Ι don’t want to experience anything bad for telling the truth about civil immigration” he concluded.
Early on Wednesday, police 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.
According to sources, arrested individuals are also held in Limassol, while the injured man remains in the hospital under police surveillance.
According to KISA, he is also under arrest, and no further updates are available concerning his health.
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.
