President says Ayia Napa assault not racist

There were no racist motives behind the incident involving Greek Cypriots who allegedly assaulted a 25-year-old Turkish Cypriot woman in Ayia Napa, President Nikos Christodoulides told Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar.

The President phoned Tatar to condemn Saturday’s incident as “unacceptable”.

He assured that police would investigate and justice would run its course while stressing that the attack was not racially motivated, according to CNA.

On Sunday, Famagusta District Court issued remand orders against two men, aged 22 and 30, for four days to facilitate police investigations regarding the incident.

A third person is being sought for the unprovoked attack on the 25-year-old Turkish Cypriot woman, who was with a group of friends.

The suspects face charges of causing grievous bodily harm.

Famagusta Police Department spokesperson Steve Theodoulou said that after an altercation between two groups, the suspects allegedly attacked and beat the 25-year-old woman, causing her to fall from a 2- to 3-meter-high walkway.

She suffered bruises to various parts of her body, a broken finger and chipped teeth.

Asya Karaali posted a short video on her Facebook page showing two men shoving her after she started filming the confrontation.

According to reports, a group of Greek Cypriots had a confrontation with a group of Turkish Cypriots in Ayia Napa, with a man pushing Karaali’s phone away.

The woman managed to record some of the incident where two men could be clearly seen.

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

Karaali said she was shocked over the incident but hoped it would not fuel further tension between the two communities but thanked the police for acting swiftly on her complaint.

“I was harassed by 3 Greeks on the way out.

“They swore at me and punched me in the face because they understood that I am Turkish because they told me that,” Karaali said on Facebook.

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