28 March 2012
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Cyprus
Human rights
defender acquitted as police accusations are found "not
credible"
19.06.2012
Doros Polycarpou, the
Executive Director of the anti-racist and migrant rights organisation
KISA, was acquitted after more than a year of criminal proceedings
when the judge found accusations against him to be "not
credible." Polycarpou had been accused of 'rioting' following
racist attacks on participants of the 2010 Rainbow Festival,
which KISA has been organising since 1998.
The Rainbow
Festival: a strong message to the far-right in Cyprus
For 14 years, KISA has organised the annual Rainbow Festival,
the largest multicultural event in Cyprus. Migrants, refugees,
ethnic minorities and Cypriots come together to celebrate diversity
and inclusion. The Festival is usually held in one of Cyprus's
two largest cities: Nicosia and Limassol. [1]
Over the years, the Rainbow Festival has been attended by families,
people of all origins, the elderly and the young, and has advocated
the recognition of migrants as a fully-fledged component of Cypriot
society. KISA is calling for dialogue between locals, minorities
and migrants.
On 5 November 2010, KISA decided to hold the Festival in Larnaca
to highlight objections to a march against "illegal"
immigration organised by the far right Greek Resistance Movement
and supported by the Pancyprian Anti-Occupation Movement and
the Movement for the Salvation of Cyprus. The demonstration also
targeted migrant rights organisations which they described as
a "social abscess and the enemy's fifth column, funded by
foreign centres" and the Cypriot state which "from
its birth, (
) fights against the Hellenism of Cyprus in
order to eliminate it."
In opposition to their chauvinistic and racist message, KISA
presented the Rainbow Festival as a counter-event: "We unequivocally
and categorically declare that migrants and refugees do not constitute
a threat to our culture and identity, but are an equal and integral
part of our society who make a considerable contribution to it."
[2]
Clashes and widespread violence against Festival-goers
Racist violence in Cyprus often goes unreported although it constitutes
a growing phenomenon [3] and is a matter of serious concern for
minority groups, especially migrants and refugees, Cypriots [4],
European human rights monitoring bodies [5] and NGOs. [6] The
EU monitoring body on racism and xenophobia (Racism and Xenophobia
European Network, RAXEN) lodged a complaint against the police
and the Ministry of Justice following the mass arrest of third
country nationals during a police raid in Nicosia city centre
in 2009. [7] Despite this and numerous other attacks on migrants,
[8] the legitimisation of violent far-right groups is underway,
as the registration of ELAM (Ethniko Laiko Metopo, National Popular
Front) as a legal political party in 2011 shows [9]. ELAM celebrated
"the shift to nationalism" when Golden Dawn won 21
seats in the Greek parliament in May 2012 wearing black shirts
and marching with Greek flags. [10]
Aware of the risk of violence, but keen on proposing an alternative
event to the racist march, KISA sought and received assurances
from local police that the far-right activists would not be allowed
to approach the venue and stir up trouble. Despite this agreement,
they were allowed to target the festival and shouted racist,
Islamophobic and homophobic abuse at the peaceful participants,
as is shown in video footage. [11] The ensuing violence resulted
in one Turkish Cypriot being stabbed and a third country national
being severely injured. The violence has been condemned across
Europe. [12]
Following the clashes, police arrested seven people, all Festival-goers,
including four Cypriots and two underage migrants. No far-right
activists were arrested. Polycarpou lodged a complaint with the
police against several persons including two who entered the
Festival's venue and started throwing chairs at people, and a
party leader for hate speech and threats of violence. Polycarpou
also informed the police that he was pushed by a man, who was
later identified as an undercover policeman.
KISA condemned, in a press release issued right after the clashes,
"the participation of politicians on the racist and chauvinist
march particularly a Member of the House of Representatives and
a member of a local council, who appear to have had a leading
role." [13] ELAM, which presents itself as being concerned
about "the survival of the Greeks in Cyprus," is close
to neo-nazi groups across Europe, such as Chrysi Avgi in Greece,
Forza Nuova in Italy and the NPD in Germany, all of which are
linked to on its blog.
In March, the police charged Doros Polykarpou with "rioting."
The main witness in the case was the leader of the far-right
organisation who initiated the march and attack on the Festival.
Polycarpou faced three years imprisonment if found guilty.
International support against the criminalisation of human
rights defenders
The charges brought against KISA's Executive Director were denounced
as unfounded from the outset and concern was expressed to the
Cypriot authorities by the UN High Commissioner for Human Right's
office regarding their substance and the country's lack of respect
for the freedom of assembly. [14] Amnesty International, the
Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and
Front Line Defenders reported on the situation and expressed
their concerns. Several international and European organisations
expressed solidarity with Polycarpou, denounced the absence of
an independent investigation, and set up a delegation to monitor
proceedings. [15] Meetings with Cypriot officials, support from
several organisations (UNITED, the European Network Against Poverty,
the Institute of Race Relations, the Minority Rights Group),
and some Members of the European Parliament (MEP's) calling for
an independent investigation of the events and for the charges
to be dropped, did not stop the prosecution. This led NGOs to
believe that this trial was:
"[Y]et another hostile attempt undertaken to thwart KISA's
actions in defence of migrants' rights which confirms the Cyprus
authorities' failure to fully respect human rights and EU law."
[16]
Indeed, since 2002, KISA has faced five criminal charges, all
of which were eventually dropped. Since its creation, KISA has
been at loggerheads with the Cypriot authorities as it has denounced
the continuous violation of migrants' rights and lack of implementation
of EU human rights obligations.
In its letter to the Cypriot authorities dated 22 July 2011,
the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern "regarding
the charges brought against human rights defender Mr. Doros Polykarpou
as a result of his peaceful participation in the Rainbow Festival
and the impending trial. Further concern is expressed that
the charges brought against him may be directly linked to his
work in defence of human rights and in particular his work against
xenophobia and racism in Cyprus." [emphasis added]
'Not credible'
On 5 June 2012, after more than a year of proceedings, the judge
found the prosecution's witnesses, two police officers, to be
"not credible" and ruled that Polycarpou was innocent.
However, Cyprus law does not allow for compensation in a criminal
case despite the financial and moral damage resulting from such
unfounded accusations.
This landmark decision confirms that the accusations against
Doros Polycarpou were unfounded and suggests that his trial aimed
to undermine the reputation and the credibility of the NGO within
the wider context of growing racism and the violation of migrant
rights. Although the decision was welcomed by KISA's supporting
organisations, the international delegation present at the verdict
gave a press conference which emphasised that, as Cyprus is about
to take up the EU Presidency and will be overseeing the finalising
of the European Common Asylum System, "the authorities should
use the occasion of Doros Polycarpou's acquittal to mark the
beginning of a new cooperation between the Cyprus state and human
rights defenders." [17]
More than a year after the events, no investigation has been
conducted and no one has been arrested in connection to the serious
crimes committed against the Turkish Cypriot participants and
the third country national severely injured during the Festival.
The trial against the far-right leader identified by Polycarpou
is about to begin. It remains to be seen whether disciplinary
procedures will be taken against the two police witness and the
undercover officer at the Festival, who testified at the court.
Sources
[1] Pictures available on KISA's Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.443087085716405.102932.435661239792323&type=3
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.443090922382688.102933.435661239792323&type=3
[2] KISA, Press Release, 3 November 2010 http://www.kisa.org.cy/_metacanvas/attach_handler23a2.pdf?attach_id=372&content_type=application/pdf&filename=Rainbow%202010_KISA_PressRelease_EN_031110.pdf
[3] Chowdhury and Kasimeris (2010) Racist Violence in Cyprus, ENAR and the Open Society Institute http://cms.horus.be/files/99935/MediaArchive/Racist%20Violence%20Cyprus%20-%20online.pdf
[4] Anti-discrimination body of the Republic of Cyprus (2010) Annual Report http://www.ombudsman.gov.cy/Ombudsman/ombudsman.nsf/All/56E603E0B5A65B53C22579500031BC50/$file/%CE%95%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%83%CE%B9%CE%B1%20%CE%95%CE%BA%CE%B8%CE%B5%CF%83%CE%B7%20%CE%91%CE%9A%CE%94%20-2010%20ENGL.pdf?OpenElement
[5] European Commission on Racism and Intolerance (2011) ECRI report on Cyprus http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/ecri/country-by-country/cyprus/CYP-CbC-IV-2011-020-ENG.pdf
[6] ENAR Shadow Report on Cyprus 2009-2010 (2010) http://cms.horus.be/files/99935/MediaArchive/publications/Cyprus.pdf
[7] Ibid at 5, p.41
[8] 'We'll come at night
and find you, traitor', December 2009, Cyprus Mail http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/we-ll-come-night-and-find-you-traitor/20091229
'Nigerian beaten by racist mob', July 2010, Cyprus Mail http://polislife.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=160600:nigerian-beaten-by-racist-mob&catid=18:cyprus-news-cyprus-mail&Itemid=61
[9] 'New Political Parties on Parliamentary Ballot', March 2011, Cyprus News Report http://www.cyprusnewsreport.com/?q=node/4042
[10] 'ELAM seeks to echo Golden Dawn's success: Will Greek vote boost nationalism here?', May 2012, Cyprus Mail http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/elam-seeks-echo-golden-dawn-s-success-will-greek-vote-boost-nationalism-here/20120513
[11]
Video footage: http://www.kisa.org.cy/EN/news/662.html
'Cyprus racism in the spotlight', James Mackay, 13 March 2012,
Cyprus Mail http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/mar/13/cyprus-political-racism-doros-polycarpou
[12] ENAR & PICUM, Joint Statement: 'Racist attacks in Cyprus: national authorities must put a stop to the criminalization of undocumented migrants and their supporters', 16 November 2010 http://picum.org/picum.org/uploads/file_/Joint%20Statement%20on%20Cyprus.pdf
[13] KISA, Press Release, 6 November 2010 http://www.kisa.org.cy/_metacanvas/attach_handler239e.pdf?attach_id=377&content_type=application/pdf&filename=KISA_PressRelease_Attack_on_Rainbow%202010_EN_061110.pdf
[14] UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Request to the Republic of Cyprus, REFERENCE: AL G/SO 214 (67-17) G/SO 214 (107-9) Assembly & Association (2010-1) CYP 1/2011 https://spdb.ohchr.org/hrdb/19th/AL_Cyprus_20.07.2011_%281.2011%29.pdf
[15] The coalition is made of: the European Association for the defence of Human Rights (AEDH), the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network, the European Network Against Racism (ENAR), Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid Programme, Front Line Defenders, Migreurop, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM)
First trial observation
mission, 22 July 2011: 'Four International NGOs Urge Cypriot
Authorities to Drop Charges against Human Rights Defender Doros
Polykarpou' http://picum.org/picum.org/uploads/file_/press%20release%20second%20mission%20EN.pdf
Second trial observation mission, 14 December 2011, 'As Doros
Polycarpou's prosecution continues, international attention and
support intensify' http://picum.org/picum.org/uploads/file_/press%20release%20second%20mission%20EN.pdf
[16] Joint Statement:
Harassment of Human Rights Defenders and breach of migrants'
rights in Cyprus must stop
http://picum.org/picum.org/uploads/file_/Join%20Statement.pdf
[17] Third trial observation
mission, 5 June 2012: 'False accusation confirmed, Judge drops
all charges against Human Rights Defenders Polycarpou' http://www.migreurop.org/article2138.html?lang=fr
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