The investigation into complaints of alleged police brutality at a Gaza protest in October 2025 have been completed, with a report to be handed over to the attorney-general next week, sources told the Cyprus Mail on Tuesday.

“The report will most likely be given to the attorney-general next week,” a source familiar with the matter said.

It added that a total of six complaints alleging the police used inappropriate brutality towards protesters had been filed by protesters.

The investigation was overseen by two investigators appointed by the independent authority for the investigation of allegations and complaints against the police.

According to the sources, the report will be delivered to the office of the attorney-general, where it will be reviewed and potentially lead to further proceedings.

Nevertheless, at this stage, the details of any subsequent actions are yet to be determined.

The investigation had been brought underway in the context of a protest held in Nicosia in 2025, following Israel’s interception of vessels sailing towards Gaza as part of the Gaza Sumud flotilla and the detention of their respective crews.

Protesters had accused police officers of sudden and brutal action, emphasising that the protest was peaceful.

The protest in Nicosia was a part of wider global protests in response to the interception of flotilla boats and the detention of the crews, with thousands of people taking to the streets in various cities all over the world including Barcelona, Dublin, Berlin, Istanbul, Buenos Aires and Karachi.

Photographer Olympia Petrou, who attended the protest, in an interview days after the protest, told the Cyprus Mail she was directly hit with pepper spray.

“I was sprayed from about one metre away – it went all over my face and body, in my eyes and mouth, on my arms, even my clothes were soaked,” she said, adding she could not see for 15 minutes and was still experiencing burning sensations the next day.

Petrou said that the protesters then linked arms, with her ending up at the front, where she saw police pushing people, including an elderly woman who was sitting in protest.

“In trying to protect her, I stepped forward, and that’s when I was pepper sprayed,” she said. “The police led with complete violence. It was really unexpected. We asked them calmly why they were doing this. There was absolutely no violence from our side.”

A journalist from newspaper Haravgi said she was among those “hit” by the police, while the newspaper said riot police used shields to push a group of demonstrators back.

The accusations prompted a further demonstration, organised by various political organisations and the opposition party Akel, with an estimated 600 people gathering outside the foreign ministry.

Political party Volt, condemning the alleged violence, referred to the allegations as a “violent repression of peaceful demonstrations has no place in a democratic and European country”.

The Ecologist’s movement, on its part, said that it “unequivocally condemns the use of force and pepper spray which appears to have been used by the police” at the protest.