Two held over attack on Turkish Cypriot woman

FAMAGUSTA

Two young men, aged 22 and 30, have been remanded on suspicion of assaulting a Turkish Cypriot woman in Greek Cyprus over the weekend, with police seeking another one.

Asya Karaali, 25, posted a short POV video on Facebook showing the altercation between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot groups in Famagusta’s Ayia Napa town early on June 3, when she was pushed off an elevated walkway and fell from a height of over two meters.

The woman was rushed in an ambulance to the Famagusta General Hospital via ambulance, with doctors saying she suffered broken teeth and bruises on different parts of her body.

Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides said two men aged 22 and 30 had been arrested, while a Famagusta judge ordered the two to be remanded in custody for four days, following their arrest by Famagusta police on charges of aggravated assault.

A third person is wanted by law enforcement authorities in connection with the incident, local media said.

Christodoulides’ Turkish Cypriot counterpart, Ersin Tatar, who spoke on the phone with Karaali, issued a statement saying his office would monitor the case through the island’s bicommunal crime committee.

“Such incidents that harm the peaceful climate on the island are unacceptable,” Tatar said.

Christodoulides, also spoke with the north’s leader, saying he condemns the incident.

According to Karaali’s initial post, one of the suspects had initiated unwanted advances and she refused. After talking to her friends in Turkish, the suspect allegedly punched her in the face and pushed her off the walkway.