Anastasios "Tassos" Isaac ( el, Αναστάσιος "Τάσος" Ισαάκ) (1972 – 11 August 1996), was a

Greek Cypriot Greek Cypriots or Cypriot Greeks ( el, Ελληνοκύπριοι, Ellinokýprioi, tr, Kıbrıs Rumları) are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community. According to the 2011 census, 659,115 r ...

refugee who participated in a civilian demonstration against the Republic of Turkey's

military occupation Military occupation, also known as belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is the effective military control by a ruling power over a territory that is outside of that power's sovereign territory.Eyāl Benveniśtî. The international law ...

of the northern part of the

Republic of Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

. The demonstrators' demand was for the complete withdrawal of Turkish troops from the island, and the return of Cypriot refugees to their homes. Isaac was beaten to death by a mob of Turkish far-right ultranationalists of the

Grey Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

in the

United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus The United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus is a demilitarized zone, patrolled by the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), that was established in 1964 and extended in 1974 after the ceasefire of 16 August 1974, following the ...

Events leading to the killing

In August 1996, in order to commemorate the 22nd year of

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

being a divided country, over 200 bikers from several European countries had organized a rally from

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

(the last divided city in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

other than Nicosia) to

Kyrenia Kyrenia ( el, Κερύνεια ; tr, Girne ) is a city on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. It is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. While there is evidence showing that the wider region ...

. They left Berlin on 2 August and were planning to arrive at their destination on the 11th where they would be joined by Greek Cypriot bikers. Simultaneously, around 2,500 members of the far-right Turkish organization

were being transported to the northern part of Cyprus by the Turkish Government in order to confront the European and Greek Cypriot bikers. Due to heavy political pressure (even by the

U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

Boutros Boutros-Ghali Boutros Boutros-Ghali (; , ar, بطرس بطرس غالي ', ; 14 November 1922 – 16 February 2016) was an Egyptian politician and diplomat who served as the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) from 1992 to 1996. An academic ...

) being applied to the Cypriot Motorcycle Federation to cancel the 11 August event, CMF finally succumbed. This was met with disapproval by a large portion of the bikers and other protesters, who decided to march on their own. Among them was Tassos Isaac, who together with other demonstrators, entered the

near

Deryneia Deryneia (Greek: Δερύνεια; Turkish: ''Derinya'') is a large village in the island of Cyprus. It is located on the east side of the island, south of the city of Famagusta. The population of the village is 5,758 (October 2011 census) and ...

, just south of the town of Famagusta. During the confrontation in the UN buffer zone between the Cypriot bikers and the Turkish far-right group

, Isaac found himself trapped in barbed-wire without his co-protesters noticing he was left behind. Soon, a large group of Grey Wolves members ran towards him and began beating him with

clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

and stones. They continued for several minutes, unchallenged by the nearby UN peacekeepers or a Turkish Cypriot police officer watching the beating. By the time Greek Cypriots managed to take him back from the mob, aided by the UN peacekeepers, Tassos Isaac was dead.

Funeral and reactions

Tassos Isaac's funeral was held on 14 August 1996 and was attended by thousands of people. Protests after the funeral led to the death of Isaac's cousin, Solomos Solomou. On 22 November 1996, the Cypriot Police issued international arrest warrants for the death of Tassos Isaac against Hasim Yilmaz, a Turkish settler and former member of the Turkish Secret Service, Neyfel Mustafa Ergun, a Turkish settler, serving in the Turkish North Cypriot police, Polat Fikret Koreli, a Turkish Cypriot from Famagusta, Mehmet Mustafa Arslan, a Turkish settler, leader of the

in Northern Cyprus, and Erhan Arıklı, a Turkish settler from the former Soviet Union.

Greek government as godparent

When Isaac was killed, he left behind his pregnant wife. As a token of gratitude for his services to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

, the Greek government decided to be the godparent of the yet unborn baby. When the baby girl was born, she was baptised Anastasia (after her father) by the then Greek

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

Theodoros Pangalos. The Greek singer

Haris Alexiou Haris Alexiou ( el, Χάρις Αλεξίου, ; born 27 December 1950 in Thebes, Greece as Hariklia Roupaka, el, Χαρίκλεια Ρουπάκα, ) is a Greek singer. She is considered one of the most popular singers in Greece and has been co ...

has dedicated to her the song "Tragoudi tou Helidhoniou" (''"Swallow's Song"'').

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isaak, Tassos 1972 births 1996 deaths Cyprus dispute Cypriot activists Cypriot murder victims People murdered in Cyprus Filmed killings by law enforcement Deaths by beating Victims of police brutality 1990s murders in Cyprus 1996 crimes in Cyprus 1996 murders in Asia 1996 murders in Europe August 1996 events in Europe