Five arrested over LGBTI incident (Update 3)

Five people were arrested in connection with the LGBTI-related attack at Cyprus’ university of technology (Tepak) in Limassol, police said on Friday.

Aged 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26, they were arrested at various times throughout the day, with two of them handing themselves in.

According to police, the 22-year-old is a Tepak student, as is the 23-year-old, though he is studying remotely. Two of them are Tepak graduates, aged 25 and 26.

The 24-year-old is from Larnaca and works at a private school.

The incident on Wednesday saw a black-clad group barge into a lecture hall at Tepak university while it was hosting a presentation by Accept-LGBTI Cyprus.

In a video depicting the event, the individuals, also seen wearing masks are heard swearing and saying LGBTI slurs. A fire extinguisher was also set off in the lecture hall.

The episode has been widely condemned as an assault on free speech.

Limassol CID had set up a special investigation team aimed to track down all the people involved in the incident.