A small group of people had gathered at the “civil defence roundabout”, located at the northern end of a complex which also includes a new ‘parliament’ building, holding a banner that reads “the will is ours” to express their disapproval at Erdogan’s arrival and recent political developments in north Cyprus, which they view as Turkish interference in local politics.

After standing on the roundabout for an hour, they were asked by the Turkish Cypriot police to move off the roundabout and away, but refused.

The police then moved in to remove the protesters by force, with conscientious objector Halil Karapasaoglu among those continuing to refuse to move.

He and four others were arrested and taken away from the scene in the back of a police van.

Making a statement after the incident, one of the protesters, Hulusi Kilim, said, “We are not allowed to use our right to protest. While we were protesting peacefully, the police intervened. The situation is a disaster for internal affairs.”

Kilim said, “The police told us to stay aside, our guest is coming. We said we would carry out our action. They took our friends.”

Among the detained activists are; Former Judge, Lawyer Tacan Reynar, Writer-Poet Halil Karapaşaoğlu, Tezcan Dereli, Journalist Növber Gürtay, Mehmet Özyücekök and Jale Akatlı.