Filenews 26 February 2024 - by Fanis Makrides
At least 65% of those who end up in Central Prisons, either convicted or undertrial, have used drugs at least once. That is, two out of three. This results from official data from the Cyprus Addictions Authority (AAEK), based on the latest survey it conducted and aims to obtain information on humanitarian management and dealing with the problem in prisons.
At the same time, however, we believe that it is also an important indication concerning the use of drugs by prisoners in the penitentiary, an issue that has occupied the sphere of public debate in recent days.
So, according to the research and what the head of AAEK's Monitoring Department, Ioanna Giasemi, told "F", the survey was conducted between March and November 2022 and is the only one. As he explained, questions were asked to 144 prisoners in Central Prisons, convicted or undertrial. Of those, 92 reported using illicit addictive substances at least once in their lifetime, prior to their current incarceration.
But the findings are not limited here. As the survey reveals, respondents had used hard substances, while many had experienced an overdose. More specifically, of those who said they had used illegal addictive substances outside prison and before their current incarceration, 11 (10%) reported injecting at least once. In addition, 23% of the 144 respondents who reported using illegal addictive substances outside prison also reported having experienced overdose.
In terms of substances, cannabis is the most commonly used, reported by 60% of respondents, followed by cocaine (38%) and methamphetamine (17%). Crack cocaine use and over-the-counter sedatives follow in fourth place, with their lifetime use reported by 14% of respondents, while the use of ecstasy pills and amphetamines was reported by 12% and 10% respectively. The use of other substances was reported by less than 10% of respondents.
User profiles
The survey yields findings on user profiles. It is indicative that the use of illegal substances, even once, was more prevalent among third-country nationals, as 74% of them (both EU and third-country nationals) reported that they used illegal drugs, compared to 62% of Cypriot nationals.
Significant differences in the prevalence of substance use (before current imprisonment) were also observed between different nationalities. In particular, while cannabis use appears to be more prevalent among non-EU nationals, stimulant use is more prevalent among EU nationals. At the same time, the use of over-the-counter sedatives was found to be more prevalent among Cypriot nationals.
Problems and attempts
The questionnaire also highlights the negative effects on the users themselves. Of the total 141 respondents, 16 of them reported that they had attempted suicide outside prison prior to the current incarceration. At the same time, when it comes to the chapter providing treatment for mental health problems within prisons, 79% of respondents have visited a doctor, psychologist, other specialist counsellor or treatment centre for mental or emotional problems during their current incarceration.
The research was part of the European project "Address and Reduce Drug Use of Inmates and Ex-inmates through Data Analysis and Intervention Programs". As Mrs. Giasemi told us, "the findings provide both us and the Prison Directorate, with which we have very close cooperation, useful information regarding the needs of prisoners and the design of relevant programs to help these individuals."
Methamphetamine and cannabis use
Although the problem of drug use within prisons is well known, it remains uncharted territory. In other words, we now have evidence through court orders of drug use in the penitentiary, but the results of the "tests" that – as officially reported – are done in the penitentiary are not known. Starting from the first point, we should mention that in the context of the investigation of the case concerning the murder of Turkish Cypriot Tansu Tsintan in the Central Prison on 27/10/22, the investigations of the investigators of the ICF Nicosia had revealed widespread trafficking and use of drugs in the Central Prisons. The data had emerged from closed circuits. We are talking about drugs such as cannabis and methamphetamine. In fact, two persons subsequently pleaded guilty to use charges and were convicted, among other things, of these offences on March 31, 2023. They are Turkish and Syrian, respectively, who are among the seven persons initially included in the indictment of this unprecedented case. They used methamphetamine and cannabis, respectively. Beyond that, occasional testimonies and valid information point to the problem of use within the prison premises. They carry drugs arriving at the institution in various ways, even by drones. Besides, just last December (2023) a chief jailer of the Central Prison was arrested by the YKAN for importing drugs into the premises of the penitentiary, through pieces of paper impregnated with synthetic drug.
Uncharted problem
As far as mapping the problem is concerned, so far, despite our efforts, we have no answer for data. The investigation of the matter was initiated by "F" last Monday. And this in the context of a report, in which we revealed that the Chief of Police, Stelios Papatheodorou, recognized the problem of drug transportation to prisons during the transfer of prisoners to the courts and ordered the tightening of supervision and control measures (later the Minister of Justice, Marios Hartsiotis, clarified that he had initially given relevant instructions).
We had also referred to the report of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction in 2022, which presented Cyprus along with Greece and France as the only European countries that do not test prisoners. The Department of Prisons, after consultation with the Cyprus Addictions Authority (AAEK), issued a statement, noting that the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction had made a mistake and that with relevant steps, the situation in Cyprus was correctly depicted and this information was updated on the EMCDDA website in October 2022. It also noted that "urine tests are performed by trained staff members, daily on a random basis or following information."
Since last Tuesday we asked both AAEK and the Department of Prisons for data on the number of tests and results, but we did not have an answer. Unofficially, a competent person told us that in 2022 8,575 tests were performed on prisoners, but we were not given information about the results. It should be noted that the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction continues to present Cyprus in the report as a country that does not test detainees.
In another recent summary publication of the European Centre to which we were referred by AAEK, Cyprus does not appear inconsistent in its testing obligation. However, data and information are not provided. Besides, a source told "F" that these tests, although they give insight into the use within prisons, they cannot be completely accurate (automatic tests) to be used for official purposes.
Cooperation with AAEK
The officer of AAEK's policy department, Natasa Savvopoulou, speaking to "F", referred to a memorandum of cooperation between the Authority and the Department of Prisons and referred to frequent meetings between the two bodies. Among other things, he told us that "in the field of treatment through its procedures, AAEK ensures the therapeutic quality of treatment programs, approves and supports the rehabilitation program DANAE which provides counselling to prisoners who wish as well as the LEMVOS program which provides substitution therapy. At the same time, it identifies gaps in the therapeutic continuum of prisoners facing drug addiction issues and in collaboration with the Department of Prisons designs and implements interventions and programs. In the field of social support, AAEK in cooperation with the Department of Prisons implements the RECONNECTION program".
