Two women have been arrested on Thursday over a TikTok livestream in which a child with Down syndrome was allegedly encouraged to expose himself.

The police said the arrests were made by the cybercrime unit after investigators assessed evidence gathered during the inquiry.

The women are expected to appear before a court later on Thursday, where the police will seek their continued detention.

The case centres on a video broadcast live on TikTok in which the two women allegedly encouraged the child to display his genitals.

The footage sparked condemnation after it circulated online, with disability organisations describing the incident as abusive behaviour.

The police launched their investigation after complaints were submitted by members of the public.  The police had previously confirmed that initial findings indicated that the women could be heard asking the child to expose himself while mocking him during the broadcast.

According to information reported by news website Sigma, a complaint had already been filed with police as early as June 1.

However, the investigation was discontinued after officers were unable to identify those involved at the time.

The case returned to public attention following intervention by organisations representing people with disabilities, which criticised the handling of the investigation and called for those responsible to be held accountable.

Speaking to CyBCon Thursday, Cyprus confederation of people with disabilities’ organisations (Kysoa) chairwoman Themis Anthopoulou urged the public to stop sharing the footage.

“Circulating a video is equivalent to the abuse recorded in the video,” she said.

She also questioned why the police had been unable to identify those involved for almost two months when, she said, “an ordinary member of the public” had managed to identify them within an hour.

She said Kysoa had previously been informed that the individuals and social media accounts could not be identified, adding that, in her view, there had not been sufficient interest on the police’s part in advancing the investigation.

On this front, she said she had also contacted the justice ministry and had been told her concerns were justified.

While she acknowledged there had been good cooperation with the police in other cases, she said this investigation only progressed after members of the public intervened themselves.

The police’s investigations into the circumstances surrounding the livestream and any offences arising from both its creation and distribution are ongoing.