Witness comes forward in parking lot incident

A witness has come forward in the car park racist incident in Larnaca, saying she watched in horror from start to finish as a Russian woman was standing her ground while being assaulted by two Cypriot females and a child.

(Click here for an update to the story)

A Russian woman, who posted a video "3 Cyprus Lady" on YouTube showing a racist attack against her by Cypriot women from Nicosia, was identified as Svetlana Zaitseva who lives in Limassol. The incident took place on Saturday night in Larnaca, with Svetlana using her phone to capture the confrontation on video while another woman, who later came forward, says she was an eye witness to the incident.

“I was going to get my car and I walked right across from them. I saw the Cypriots pulling out to leave but hadn’t noticed that they had backed into another car. I heard a lady calling them to ‘stop, stop’” the female eye witness told Reporter.

The woman also said that as soon as the Cypriots realized the car did not belong to the Russian lady, they became aggressive.

“One of them pounced on her and tried to grab the mobile phone, the other one kicked her, as I was watching them,” the witness said, who added that she went to get the security guard and told him to call the police because there was going to be a fight. “They were pushing her, kept getting up close, and spitting at her. There wasn’t anything they did not say to that woman,” she said.

The eye witness also said she saw a young boy involved in the incident.

“Even the young one, eight years old, he went over and kicked the woman and spat in her face. We’re talking about a very heated incident,” she said.

The witness also said she was concerned that Svetlana, who appeared to be calm throughout the incident, could have fallen down amid the pushing and shoving.

The video showed parts of the verbal assault which included racial slurs while physical gestures are also heard in the video, including a time when another woman also spat in Svetlana’s face.

People took to social media to express anger over the racist behaviour in the video, as the Cypriot women were heard calling Svetlana “Bulgarian far” and “Romanian bitch” as well as using other expletives and telling her to go back to her country. They also described her as a “cabaret butt naked whore” who came to Cyprus “to find a Cypriot husband,” adding that she should go to their home to “clean their windows.”

Cops examine additional footage

Police have already taken statements from the three Cypriot women, mother and two daughters, as well as Svetlana, while security footage from CCTV cameras nearby has also been handed over to investigators. Possible charges could include racist behaviour, public disorder, and assault, while reports said police started an investigation upon seeign the video online and prior to any formal complaints.

Svetlana, who spoke on television, said the world needed to be less aggressive, not just Cyprus but all over the world, adding that a simple apology would have been enough. 

But media sources indicated the time for an apology may be too late, citing Svetlana’s lawyers intending to pursue the matter further.

One of the women who allegedly assaulted Svetlana was said to have been fired from her job over the phone after the video had gone viral. Reports said she worked as an educator at a private institution.

Additional reports said Svetlana might be willing to remove the video from YouTube if necessary. But she also stressed that she wanted to show the ugly face of racism, adding that the video was a way to protect herself and her integrity.