NICOSIA // Marcos Papageorgiou had just finished a master's degree in London and flown home to his native Cyprus for the Christmas holidays. On his second evening back he was out with a friend when they got pulled over by plainclothes police for an identity check.
What happened next was caught on amateur videotape and caused widespread shock when the grainy night-time footage was repeatedly broadcast on Cypriot television stations, circulated on mobile phones and posted on YouTube.
The video shows at least six men stamping their feet on two men and repeatedly punching them as they lay handcuffed on the ground, offering no resistance. Cries of pain and distress are audible.
The footage is reminiscent of the infamous video of Los Angeles police beating Rodney King, a black motorist. The acquittal by a jury of four LA police officers in 1992 sparked six days of rioting.
The Cypriot public, too, regarded the evidence against their own police to be impregnable. But last week, four years after the incident, a court in Nicosia acquitted 10 police officers of all brutality charges. The three judges - there is no jury system in Cyprus - unanimously ruled that the video evidence "which originally led to the prosecution" was unconvincing and invalid.
There was no rioting as in the King case. But the public uproar at what was regarded as a miscarriage of justice that put the police above the law was swift. Even as the verdict was being delivered, Cyprus's attorney general, Petros Clerides, burst into the court to protest against the rejection of the video evidence.
The public no longer trusted the police, he told state radio later.
The state legal service promptly announced it would appeal the decision in the Supreme Court. Loukas Louka, Cyprus's justice minister, said the government respected the court's decision, but insisted: "This is not the end of the matter."
The law also needed to be amended on the admissibility of audio-visual evidence, he added.
A day after the acquittals, more than 200 family members and friends of the two students protested outside the Nicosia court.
The bitter irony of what befell the two students, Marcos Papageorgiou and Yiannis Nicolaou, both 27, is keenly felt by their families. Cypriots sending their children to universities in Britain often fret about the crime rate there: violent crime is rare in Cyprus.
"My son had been in London for 10 years, going out in the evenings with no trouble," said Marcos's father, Yiannis Papageorgiou, 70, a gynaecologist and obstetrician.
"He told me 'I come to my country and they beat me almost to death after just two days here'."
Dr Papageorgiou met friends on Saturday to discuss the "unacceptable" situation. They decided to form a protest group called Alert with a committee of five, although Dr Papageorgiou deliberately is not one.
"It's not just for justice for the two students, it's for everyone," he said in an interview. "Imagine if the police can get away with this when so much evidence exists, then what should a defenceless immigrant expect?"
Alert garnered abundant local television coverage on Monday with a theatrical but peaceful protest.
Under a heavy spring downpour, 150 people placed bananas at the main entrance to the Nicosia courts. Blocking the entrance were 20 police officers.
The protest was inspired by the words hurled at the criminal court judges by Dr Papageorgiou when the 10 police officers walked free. "This is a banana republic; rejoice in your justice system."
The protesters included students, university professors, artists, teachers, businessmen and housewives.
"I'm here because I have teenage children and I worry about them if they're ever approached by the police who should be there to protect and support them," said Dora Georgalli, 48, who runs a kindergarten.
There were several reasons why the incident has provoked outrage, said Nicos Peristianis, a sociologist and the director of the University of Nicosia.
The middle class was stirred because the students were from good families, he said. "One is the son of a very well-known doctor who's delivered thousands of babies, including one of my own."
Yiannis Nicolaou, one of the beaten students, is back in Cyprus.
The other is still in London, working as a freelance artist. He is so devastated by the court's ruling that he is unsure whether he will ever return to Cyprus, his father, Dr Papageorgiou, said. "Marcos doesn't feel secure enough yet to come back."
mtheodoulou@thenational.ae
Specs
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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Tips for taking the metro
- set out well ahead of time
- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines
- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
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- 600-seat auditorium
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- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Racecard
6.35pm: The Madjani Stakes – Group 2 (PA) Dh97,500 (Dirt) 1,900m
7.10pm: Evidenza – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,200m
7.45pm: The Longines Conquest – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 2,000m
8.20: The Longines Elegant – Conditions (TB) Dh82,500 (D)
8.35pm: The Dubai Creek Mile – Listed (TB) Dh132,500 (D) 1,600m
9.30pm: Mirdif Stakes – Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (D) 1,400m
10.05pm: The Longines Record – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,900m
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh1,100,000 (est)
Engine 5.2-litre V10
Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch
Power 630bhp @ 8,000rpm
Torque 600Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined 15.7L / 100km (est)
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
The biog
Favourite colour: Brown
Favourite Movie: Resident Evil
Hobbies: Painting, Cooking, Imitating Voices
Favourite food: Pizza
Trivia: Was the voice of three characters in the Emirati animation, Shaabiyat Al Cartoon
Jawab Iteiqal
Director: Mohamed Sammy
Starring: Mohamed Ramadan, Ayad Nasaar, Mohamed Adel and Sabry Fawaz
2 stars
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder turbo
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Price: Dh98,900
Mina Cup winners
Under 12 – Minerva Academy
Under 14 – Unam Pumas
Under 16 – Fursan Hispania
Under 18 – Madenat
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
Engine: 0.8-litre four cylinder
Power: 70bhp
Torque: 66Nm
Transmission: four-speed manual
Price: $1,075 new in 1967, now valued at $40,000
On sale: Models from 1966 to 1970
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Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
Jordan cabinet changes
In
- Raed Mozafar Abu Al Saoud, Minister of Water and Irrigation
- Dr Bassam Samir Al Talhouni, Minister of Justice
- Majd Mohamed Shoueikeh, State Minister of Development of Foundation Performance
- Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research
- Falah Abdalla Al Ammoush, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Basma Moussa Ishakat, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Ghazi Monawar Al Zein, Minister of Health
- Ibrahim Sobhi Alshahahede, Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Environment
- Dr Mohamed Suleiman Aburamman, Minister of Culture and Minister of Youth
Out
- Dr Adel Issa Al Tawissi, Minister of High Education and Scientific Research
- Hala Noaman “Basiso Lattouf”, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Mahmud Yassin Al Sheyab, Minister of Health
- Yahya Moussa Kasbi, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Nayef Hamidi Al Fayez, Minister of Environment
- Majd Mohamed Shoueika, Minister of Public Sector Development
- Khalid Moussa Al Huneifat, Minister of Agriculture
- Dr Awad Abu Jarad Al Mushakiba, Minister of Justice
- Mounir Moussa Ouwais, Minister of Water and Agriculture
- Dr Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education
- Mokarram Mustafa Al Kaysi, Minister of Youth
- Basma Mohamed Al Nousour, Minister of Culture
