The police on Saturday released a statement denying breaking into the apartment in the raid that led to the death of 19-year-old Anisur Rahman.
In their statement, police emphasise that during the investigation, statements have been taken from all occupants of the apartment where the young man resided. According to these specific statements, there is no indication of any claim regarding a breach of any entrance by police officers or any claim of violence exerted by the police.
Furthermore, concerning the allegation of 15 police officers entering the mentioned apartment, the police clarified that only two police members initially visited the scene. The police urge anyone with a different testimony regarding this incident to immediately contact the Police Headquarters at 22-808094 or the Citizen’s Line at 1460.
Early on Wednesday, April 10, 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.
Anti-racist organisation KISA has disputed 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.
The police’s account has also 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, which 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”.
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.
