This online article was published by the group Justice for Shoaib Khan on Facebook on 07/01/26.

Yesterday marked one year since the unjust killing of Shoaib Khan. We gather at Eleftherias square to mourn his life collectively and to honour his memory. We refuse to accept the deaths of people who come to Cyprus in search of safety, dignity, and a better future, only to encounter violence and brutality. Shoaib, at 24 years of age, was shot in the back because he was trying to provide for himself and his family. His killing was not an accident, and it was not inevitable. It was the result of systemic and social violence that surrounds us.

This is not an isolated incident. We remember Shoaib alongside the many others whose lives have been taken because of border policies, racism, and dehumanisation. Their stories are connected, and so is our responsibility to speak their names and demand justice. Migrant workers carry out some of the most difficult and labour-intensive work in our society, yet they are denied safety, rights, and respect. We demand dignity and equal treatment for all—migrant and local workers alike.

We come together to grieve, to remember, and to stand against the violence that continues to claim lives.

Crossing borders is not a crime, establishing them and taking lives away to defend them is.

The vigil included a message from Shoaib's family, text readings in English, Greek, Urdu, French, Turkish, two messages from other migrant workers and a short prayer for Shoaib.