Police violence against conscientious objection activists in Cyprus

Activists from the Conscientious Objection Initiative in northern Cyprus were violently arrested on 15th November for unfurling a banner reading "Our duty to our country is peace, Conscientious Objection is our right” during a military parade. Find about more about the Cypriot Initiative for Conscientious Objection here. By contrast, on 29th October at a similar military parade a group of men opened up banners that read “No to conscientious objection” and “Military duty is our honour” (‘namus’ which means sexual honour in Turkish). This group were left alone. While in custody, the peace activists asked the police why they did not intervene with the banners on the 29th. The police's response was: “Theirs' was acceptable. We know who you are, what you stand for.”

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