Turkish Cypriot musician, stabbed in 2010, to sue Republic

A Turkish Cypriot musician, who was beaten and stabbed by Greek Cypriot nationalists at a music festival in Larnaca five years ago is to sue the Cyprus government for €2m, media in the north reported.
Cyprus Today newspaper said peace activist and guitarist Sertunc Akdogu was to launch a civil lawsuit against the Republic of Cyprus for failing to protect its citizens.
During the November 5, 2010 Rainbow Festival, which was organised by migrant support group KISA and other NGOs aiming at promoting ties between migrants and Cypriots, extreme right-wing groups organised an anti-immigration protest the same night, resulting in clashes in which Akdogu was stabbed.
A number of other people were also injured and the festival venue, along Phinikoudes was trashed in the middle of a speech by the then European Commission representative to Cyprus.
“No one has ever been held to account. We are seeking two million euros in compensation,” Akdogu said. “They saw our guitars and went for us. I was protected by my guitar on my back, which was smashed to bits, but as I covered my head, one of them stabbed me in the side.”

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.