Arrest warrants out for four more over violent eviction in Oroklini
Arrest warrants have been put out for four more people over the attempted eviction of a group of third-country nationals from a block of flats in the Larnaca suburb of Oroklini, which turned violent and ended with a 27-year-old man requiring a craniectomy, the police confirmed on Thursday.
Speaking to the Cyprus Mail, a police spokesperson confirmed that all four warrants have been issued for Cypriot nationals.
The spokesperson also confirmed that seven people have been arrested thus far, including the building’s 35-year-old manager. He remains in custody, having been remanded for eight days in court on Sunday.
Three more Cypriot nationals were also arrested in connection with the incident and have since been freed pending the conclusion of police investigations into the matter.
The three other people to have been arrested are all third-country nationals who were found to be living in Cyprus illegally. As such, the police spokesperson confirmed that procedures are underway for their deportation.
The spokesperson also said the 27-year-old who required a craniectomy, a type of brain surgery where a part of one’s skull is removed by a surgeon to relieve pressure, remains in a critical condition.
On Monday, Oroklini deputy mayor Neophytos Fakontis said the block of flats had been an issue for a while, adding that local authorities have been “sounding the alarm since 2017 about the unacceptable situation” in the building.
According to newspaper Politis, he said the building’s inhabitants, who are primarily of African origin, were living “in miserable conditions, without water and electricity, amidst piles of garbage and filth”.
He said a decree stipulating the suspension of the building’s operations had been pending at the Larnaca district office for four years as it did not have the relevant approval certificate to operate, but that as the office did not issue the decree, the police were powerless to intervene, and the building’s inhabitants remained in place.
Despite this, he said, the building’s mains water supply had been cut off eight years ago due to accumulated debts.
He went on to say that he had written to the Audit Office complaining of a “waste of public money” on the building, adding that the building’s residents were paying €125 per month each but that “eight to ten people” were living in each flat.
He added that the site had been sold to a private company last year with the aim of developing it, and that around a month ago, the company had informed the local authorities that the building was to be evacuated so that construction work could begin.
According to the Cyprus News Agency, the 35-year-old went to the building in an attempt to evict 15 third-country nationals who were living in the building after having obtained an eviction order, during which it turned violent.
Police were then called in with tear gas then being deployed against the third-country nationals, who had allegedly attacked the police.