-
.
- Русский
Witnesses will testify in court on September 26, over the beating of a Turkish Cypriot woman in Ayia Napa last month, the Famagusta district court decided on Thursday.
The new date was set following a request by the defence to have more time to review the evidence and witness statements already given.
The two suspects, 22 and 30, are facing charges of assault and causing grievous bodily harm for the beating of 25-year-old Asya Karaali, which resulted in her falling from a two-metre-high wall.
Speaking at court, defence attorney Tasos Kyrmitsis said that he needed more time to review the testimonies given by everyone involved in the incident, and the medical reports from both the state-controlled areas and the north.
He said that the reports from the state-controlled areas have a difference in their opinion in comparison to the one from the north.
Taking these facts into account, the court decided to set a new trial date for September 26.
On establishing a new date, the prosecution called for sufficient time to be given at the new hearing to allow them to bring forward three witnesses to testify, and for the video and audio material to be reviewed, during the hearing.
In June, Karaali gave testimony about the incident to the police, which occurred near the church of Ayia Napa.
Karaali had gone to Ayia Napa with her friends for a night out, when the two Greek Cypriots approached her, and an argument broke out between the two groups.
The two men then attacked the 25-year-old woman, who fell from a wall of 2-3 metres high and injuring her.
After the attack Karaali, in a social media post said she did not want the incident to cause tension.
“I don’t want this incident to cause any tension and animosity between the two communities,” Karaali’s post read. She added that police intervened promptly and arrested the perpetrators.
In an earlier post the 25-year-old detailed what had happened and published a photo of her face, her broken finger and a video that appears to record the moment two men attacked and beat her.
Karaali described having gone to Ayia Napa for a night out with a friend and how she was harassed by three men while leaving.
“They cursed me and punched me in the face because I said I didn’t want them, and they knew I was Turkish Cypriot from the way I spoke. I was then thrown from a wall about two metres high. I don’t remember why I passed out. Someone who saw it called an ambulance, but when I went to the hospital, they told me I had nothing,” she wrote.
According to her account, she then went to the north and had her teeth fixed by her dentist, after which she went to the hospital also in the north, where she was told that her finger was broken, however, a certificate that the injury was the result of assault, could not be issued because the incident had happened in government-controlled areas.
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Mail
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Mail
Source
