Our View: Delivery drivers are easy targets for racist thugs

Two Indian delivery drivers were attacked by a mob of 15 thugs, in Kato Polemidia, Limassol, on Saturday, just before midnight. They were beaten up, one of them suffering a broken nose, while the perpetrators stole €300 and mobile telephones from them. The victim with the broken nose was kept in hospital while his friend was treated and released.

This was not the first time delivery men, who feature prominently on all our roads, weaving through the traffic on mopeds or bicycles have been attacked and robbed. There were similar incidents, again in Limassol, not so long ago, but any thought that they would not be repeated had proved mistaken. Delivery men, almost exclusively from third world countries and doing their job all hours of the night, are easy prey for racist thugs.

Police, to their credit were quick to take action, showing that such behaviour can never be tolerated. Two of the suspected attackers – aged 19 and 21 – were detained and appeared at Limassol district court, which issued five-day remand orders against them. Police also issued photographs of 10 of the suspected attackers, taken on CCTV, seeking “information that could help identifying or locating them, in connection with the investigation of a case”.

The police also listed the offences that had been allegedly committed by the 10 men. They included conspiracy to commit a felony, robbery, assault that caused grievous bodily harm, assault that caused actual bodily harm and violations of the law against racism and xenophobia. Members of the public with information or who recognised the men were urged to call Limassol CID or to contact the nearest police station.

It was commendable the police clamped down on this abhorrent behaviour, underlining that it would not be tolerated. In the past, the attack may have been deemed unworthy of investigation, but this is not the case now. The police are after all the men involved, not satisfied that they had arrested two of them, which is how it should be.

Some could argue that the police have more serious crimes to deal with and should not be allocating too many of their resources on what could be dismissed as a minor crime, in which neither victim was seriously hurt. This would have sent the wrong signals and encouraged similar racist attacks in the future. There is little doubt this was a racially motivated attack, and the authorities need to make it very clear that the full force of the law would come down on the perpetrators.

We would have expected the political parties to have condemned the attack, which was largely ignored. Only the Green Party issued a brief statement saying the “latest episode of racist violence in Limassol is cause for justified concern,” but it would be helpful for more parties to take a public stand against this type of behaviour. And they should not only condemn the racism but also the mindless cruelty of attacking and robbing people trying to make an honest living.