Mental health sector honours patients and staff killed in 1974

A memorial service was held on Monday in memory of the patients and staff killed during the July 20, 1974 bombings of the Athalassa psychiatric hospital by Turkish jets.

The mental health services directorate, under the state health services (Okypy), said the bombing of the hospital was “a wound in the history of medicine and nursing in Cyprus”.

“Mental health patients are a vulnerable group,” the directorate said.

It added that it was imperative to continue to defend and establish the rights of mental health patients and to improve the quality of services offered.

The memorial service was held at the monument bearing the names of the fallen, near the Nicosia general hospital morgue.

Speaking at the event, deputy director of the clinic and head of the Athlassa hospital Dr Lambros Samartzis said the bombings claimed 33 victims – 31 patients, one nurse and one soldier.

Of the 31 patients, 28 were Greek Cypriots and three were Turkish Cypriots.

Samartzis said the killing of patients was a war crime.

He also referred to the chaos at the hospital during the bombings.

Retired member of the nursing administration at the directorate Takis Agathokleous, who was at the Athalassa hospital when it was bombed, referred to the struggle of the nurses to care for the wounded and their role in following orders to gather and bury the dead in a mass grave.

 “We gathered the bodies, some were dismembered, and with the help of the patients we took them and buried them with our bare hands.” Agathokleous said

He also said he contributed to finding the mass grave, to exhume the remains, identify them and restore the historical memory.

The directorate’s head of nursing staff Anthos Yiannapis said trainees took the initiative to plant cypress trees at the site of the mass grave, to honour the memory of the fallen and to mark the spot of the grave.