Investigations continue into eviction which turned violent in Oroklini, two more arrested

Investigations were ongoing on Monday into an attempted eviction of a group of third-country nationals from a block of flats in the Larnaca suburb of Oroklini where they were living, which turned violent and ended with a 27-year-old man requiring a craniectomy.

He remains in critical condition in Nicosia general hospital.

Late on Monday afternoon, the police arrested two people, aged 30 and 29, who will be taken before a court on Tuesday for remand orders.

They are being charged with rioting, unlawful assembly, carrying a weapon to incite terror, disturbing the peace and assault.

Meanwhile, Oroklini deputy mayor Neophytos Fakontis said the block of flats has 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, are 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 has 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.

However, he said, it has not yet been possible to find other locations in which the building’s inhabitants can live.

The 35-year-old man who was arrested after the violent incidents witnessed during the eviction attempt on Saturday, who is now known to be the building’s manager, remains in custody, having been remanded for eight days in court on Sunday.

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.

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.

Shortly afterwards, the police were called to the scene but initially found that the situation was “under control”.

However, it was reported that there was an “escalation of incidents”, with tear gas then being deployed against the third-country nationals, who had allegedly attacked the police.