Blame for stadium violence reportedly put on three police officers

Three officers were reportedly blamed for the rioting that unfolded at a basketball match last month in a report drawn up by the police and handed to the justice minister on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, two suspects that appeared in court earlier in the day, were released on bail.

Violence broke out ahead of the Anorthosis-Apollon basketball match on the last weekend of March at the Tassos Papadopoulos Eleftheria stadium in Nicosia, which saw policemen injured and offices opposite burnt down.

The report was prepared by Deputy Police Chief Demetris Demetriou on behalf of the Chief Stelios Papatheodorou, and was due to have been handed over to Justice Minister Anna Procopiou on Wednesday. She spoke about the measures taken by the government since at a session of the House legal affairs committee.

According to the Cyprus Times, the report revealed details of the investigation and focused on information police received.

It said that the police were well aware of the arrival of fans from Limassol, who may cause riots.

Two men suspected of involvement in the violence were on Wednesday released on bail by the Nicosia district court.

Of the two suspects, one aged 25 was released on €10,000 bail and the second aged 21 on €5,000.

The court also ordered them to present themselves three times a week at a police station, and banned them from attending all sporting events until the trial is completed.

Speaking to the House committee, Procopiou said that in relation to allegations that the hands of the police are tied and officers are in constant fear a complaint will be lodged against them for use of excessive force, the minister rejected these claims, saying that to clarify that there are approximately 5,000 police officers and approximately 400 cases of excessive force were made in the past year, for which there were only four convictions.

She said that based on these statistics, the percentage of excessive force complaints are minimal.

“So, I think the numbers speak for themselves. Yes, there may be this as a doubt [excessive force] in the back of some policemen’s minds, but when we look at the numbers we see that they do not correspond to characterising such fear,” she said.

Speaking at the House legal affairs committee, Procopiou presented the plan the government has drawn up to deal with violence at sporting events.

She said that the ministry’s approach is holistic and people-centred, since in addition to the immediate measures that have already been decided by the cabinet, the planning also includes long-term preventive measures.

Procopiou also said that part of the measures includes the installation of CCTV cameras at all sporting venues, which the police have also created a report on, to determine the adequacy of the venues to host cameras.

Commenting on the long-term plan, the minister said her ministry will cooperate with the education ministry and the deputy social welfare ministry to create an education and social programme to prevent violence.

She said that an advisory group will be created that will consist of sociologists, psychologists and addiction specialists since, as has been established, the use of narcotic substances is directly related to incidents of violence at sporting events.

During the session, the minister agreed to inform the House committee every two months on the issue of preventing violence at sporting events.

At the same committee the police chief said that from May 2022 to March 2023, a total of 95 arrests were made for violence in stadiums, while in 11 cases fans were convicted with the maximum penalty of one year in prison.

In addition, he said that in 28 cases decrees were issued banning fans from entering stadiums.