Instead of apologising for the police repression they continue to drag people to the courts

 

Statement by AKEL C.C. Spokesperson Giorgos Koukoumas

12 May 2022, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

The opening of the trial of the 11 citizens who demonstrated in February 2021 at Kolokasi Park in Nicosia, reminds us that instead of apologising for the police repression which everyone denounced at the time, the government continues to launch vindictive prosecutions and drag people to court.

We also recall that, as AKEL was at the time persistently warning about the decrees of the Synergy government, just recently the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the complete and prolonged ban on demonstrations constitutes a disproportionate and therefore unacceptable measure. All the more so if it turns out that the state is exercising its severity selectively and depending on whether the demonstrations are anti-government or not.

Our people’s democratic freedoms and human rights are non-negotiable and we all have a duty to be vigilant about them in the face of a government that has long since slid into regime-type practices.