A 55-year-old woman who wielded a knife against a group of Russians who were celebrating the inauguration of their country’s flag in Larnaca in August, will not face terrorism charges, Phileleftheros reported on Tuesday.
The woman appeared before the Larnaca District Court yesterday. She is facing charges of racism, common assault, carrying a knife outside a residence, drunkenness, public disturbance, and carrying a weapon to incite terror.
Despite pressure by the Russian Federation, exercised through high-level officials of the country’s Foreign Ministry, the offence of terrorism was not finally added to the various charges.
The woman was released after she paid the 2,000 euro bail set by the Court and will stand trial on October 5.
It is noted that outside the Larnaca Court, a group of Ukrainians gathered in support of the woman.
The incident took place on August 22 near Panayia Faneromeni church in Larnaca, where a group of Russians had gathered in an open plot to celebrate the inauguration of the Russian flag, via a motorcade procession in the city.
Police who were present at the location to accompany the motorcade said that the woman arrived at the scene from a nearby apartment blog, wielding a knife while moving threateningly towards the crowd. Officers intervened to arrest her.
The incident caused strong reactions in Moscow. Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, described the attack as “an act of terror” and asked Cypriot Authorities to “protect Russian citizens.”
