The police were on Monday subjected to questions by the House human rights committee over the arrest of three people who were taking part in a protest organised in support of migrants on January 19.

Deputy police chief Ioannis Georgiou was representing the police at the committee, and said the protesters were “shouting abusive slogans” at the police, adding that those who “repeatedly insult the police” are also arrested at football stadiums.

MP Alexandra Attalides, who belongs to Volt, pointed out that during a recent protest outside parliament, protesters had also “shouted abusive slogans and threats” at the police, and that no arrests were made.

In response, Georgiou said, “in the police, we are not all the best of the best, and we have some who are not so good”.

It was confirmed that a complaint has been filed to the independent police complaints authority over the arrests, with an authority spokesperson saying a complaint was made with regard to “verbal and physical violence” on the part of the police during the arrests.

Committee chairman and Akel MP Giorgos Koukoumas also weighed in on the matter, saying that it has “become clear that the police do not have a problematic implementation of the provisions, but a problematic philosophy and perception of how they should deal with demonstrations”.

“Persecution, arbitrary actions on the part of police, and violence have all been seen,” he said, before saying the arrests made at the January 19 protest were made with “vague and unfounded accusations”.

“In these times that we are entering, human rights and democratic freedoms are being attacked from various direction and the right to demonstrate, which is central to any democracy, must be protected by all of us,” he said.

Meanwhile, Disy MP Rita Superman said that “excessive violence is condemnable” and called on the police to create a code of conduct.

She said that there are some cases wherein demonstrators have provoked the police, but said this was “not an excuse”.

Attalides also spoke after the meeting, describing the right to protest as “a means of expressing political, social, and economic demands”, and added that it “cannot be restricted by police without serious justification, because this harms democratic dialogue and undermines the rule of law”.

“Police cannot arrest demonstrators at their discretion depending on whether something bothers them or not. Police violence during demonstrations constitutes a serious threat to fundamental rights and democracy, especially in a period when those things are being questioned,” she said.

She added, “if people realise that their mere participation in a demonstration will be a reason for police to arrest them, you understand what era we are entering”.

Meanwhile, Green party MP Charalambos Theopemptou said that both the police and demonstrators “must know what is permissible and what is not”.

“Whether through a bill or through internal regulations and police training, we must find a way for how the police will operate and what protesters should know,” he said.

Three people were arrested at the January 19 protest on Nicosia’s central Ledra Street while taking part in a demonstration aimed at showing support for migrants in the wake of the death of 24-year-old Pakistani national Shoaib Khan.

Khan was shot dead by police while attempting to cross from the north to the Republic near the village of Potamia, before his body was left in Strovolos by the driver of the car in which he was travelling.

The Turkish Cypriot authorities had found that Khan had entered the north on November 29, 2021 on a 60-day tourist visa and had never left through any of the north’s regulated ports of entry.