Man linked to racial attack to face trial

The 43-year-old Greek Cypriot man, who was remanded after he was caught on video assaulting a Congolese woman holding her infant in Larnaca, will be referred to a trial on Tuesday.

Following instructions by the legal service who approved the criminal prosecution of the suspect, the case will be forwarded to Larnaca district court on the last day of his four-day remand, police said on Monday.

The man was filmed by an eyewitness hitting and kicking a 29-year-old asylum seeker who was on the ground holding her infant in her arms last Wednesday. He was also seen assaulting her brother.

In the widely condemned video, another man, who is also thought to be Greek Cypriot but younger than the suspect, is seen trying to stop him.

The court had heard that once the perpetrator realised the eyewitness was recording the assault, he grabbed an iron crowbar and threatened to kill her, as he did the 29-year-old.

The victim of the attack reported it to a local police station. Police said they gave a relevant referral to the woman so she could visit the hospital where she was found to have bruises and scratches on various parts of her body.

The assault took place outside the residence of the 43-year-old near Larnaca port, after the woman visited to ask him to return some €900 she had paid him to buy a car which she later found to have mechanical problems.

Investigators said they would also examine footage from at least two CCTV cameras located in the area.

The perpetrator had presented himself to the local police station around noon on Thursday, telling officers he was planning to give the money back to the woman after she returned the car. He is being investigated for offences that included racist and violent behaviour, assault and causing actual bodily harm.