DEMONSTRATORS AT NICOSIA RALLY FINED FOR BREAKING COVID MEASURES
Cyprus Mail 1 June 2020 - by Nick Theodoulou
Demonstrators who were present and involved with Sunday’s march to protest the conditions at migrant camps have been fined, the police confirmed on Monday.
The demonstration took place on Sunday afternoon in Eleftheria square and about 300 people attended – far exceeding the ban on a group of more than ten people introduced as part of the coronavirus restrictions.
“We are looking into the leaders of the demonstration and they will face criminal charges while efforts will be made to identify others present so they can be fined,” police spokesman Christos Andreou told the Cyprus Mail.
Police confirmed that the fines are related to breaking the ongoing coronavirus measures and similar action has been taken against other demonstrations.
It is understood that the so-called leaders of the demonstration are being investigated for calling on others to break the measures.
Police said that so far about ten people have been identified and fines of €300 have already been issued.
The fine given to one of the demonstators
“Investigations are ongoing as they are with other demonstrations – not just in this case,” Andreou said.
Last week a protest took place at the seafront in Molos, Limassol, to demonstrate against the government’s coronavirus measures. Demonstrators argued that Covid-19 health regulations and measures restrict their freedoms.
More than a hundred people participated, while no police appeared at the protest.
The Facebook event for the ‘Antiracist March’ on Sunday described the demonstration as: “The struggle against the concentration camps of the 21st century goes on… We invite all organisations, groups and individuals to stand with us against the new barbarism of the governmental policy.”
The Pouranara camp in particular has been in the spotlight in recent weeks as NGOs criticised the living conditions there.
There are four times as many migrants at the Pournara camp than there were this time last year.
There are currently 744 people housed at the camp, around four times the number during the same period last year.
Officials said there was tension in the camp and that the people there, which is designed to hold asylum seekers until they have been recorded, are keen to get out. They have been unable to do so since the start of the coronavirus measures.
