Filenews 9 July 2024
At the end of September, the new wing of a closed prison will be opened, in which 240 prisoners will be able to stay, according to the Minister of Justice and Public Order, Marios Hartsiotis, who estimated that this will solve by 30% the problem of prison overcrowding, while with the construction of the new Central Prison building that is being promoted, the problem will be permanently solved.
Mr. Hartsiotis was speaking on Tuesday morning after the inauguration of the Center for Guidance, Extra-institutional Employment and Rehabilitation of Prisoners, within the premises of the Department of Prisons, which took place in the presence of the Deputy Director of the Central Prisons, Haris Filippidis, the Director General of the Ministry of Justice, Louis Panagis, Officers of the Ministry of Justice and officers.
Today the Center for Guidance, Extra-institutional Employment and Rehabilitation of Prisoners is inaugurated and at the end of September the new closed prison wing in the old building of the open prison is operating with a number of inmates, which will be about 240 inmates, he said.
"You understand that with this infrastructure, which is essentially completed in the autumn and is the first phase for alleviating the issue of overpopulation, there will be a solution to the whole problem of 30%," he added.
At the same time, he pointed out that the problem will be definitively resolved with the completely new Central Prison building, which is being promoted, with a capacity for about 360 more prisoners.
In his address earlier at the inauguration, Mr. Hartsiotis said that the creation of the new Center for Guidance, Extra-institutional Employment and Rehabilitation of Prisoners, which will be able to accommodate up to 36 prisoners, is part of the measures adopted and promoted by the Government to address the chronic and serious problem of overcrowding in prisons.
"Let me note that we have already proceeded with the creation of the new open prison that has been operating since last February and can accommodate up to 60 inmates, while next September the new closed prison will be delivered, it is the new closed wing of the prison that will be able to accommodate up to 240 prisoners," he said.
According to Mr. Hartsiotis, "the Center we are inaugurating today includes prisoners who are held in the open prison and who are selected by a competent Committee for employment or attendance of such courses in secondary or tertiary education schools, except of course the Prisons."
In 2020, the Minister continued, with an amendment to the relevant legislation, the prison legislation, extended the period that prisoners can remain in the Center, always aiming at further enhancing their social and smoother reintegration.
As he said, the prisoners who join the Center serve the remaining and last part of their sentence under conditions of limited and controlled freedom, always aiming at the gradual and smooth reintegration into the free society.
"They work in the free market, in an employer and in work approved by the competent Commission or the Director of Prisons, and their terms of employment are the same as in the rest of the workers as in the free society and the whole professional sector," he explained.
Mr. Hartsiotis said that "the role of the Center and the Committee that selects the prisoners who will join it is decisive for their smooth social reintegration through the provision of work, accommodation, clothing, adequate means of transition to their destination and small amounts of money to meet their first and basic needs immediately after their release."
Recently, the Minister of Justice said, exercising the powers granted to him by the prison law, he appointed the new members of the Committee of the Center for Guidance, Extra-institutional Employment and Rehabilitation of Prisoners, whom he congratulated "for the very important work they carry out and the assistance they provide to prisoners for their smooth reintegration into society".
"The Ministry, recognizing the difficulties faced by prisoners after their release and wanting to contribute to the smooth reintegration of these people into society and their professional rehabilitation, signed with OEB a memorandum of understanding for the provision of financial incentives to employers for the recruitment of released prisoners," he said.
The results of the implementation of the memorandum, he added, "are particularly encouraging and for this reason its further expansion is being considered to maximize these positive results."
The Minister of Justice thanked the Prison Administration for the very good cooperation they have in their efforts both to enhance the social reintegration of prisoners and to improve detention conditions in general.
He also thanked all the competent public authorities who cooperated and especially the Management and staff of the Department of Public Works and the Electromechanical Services to enable the completion and delivery of the project they inaugurated today.
After the end of the ceremonial part of the inauguration, a guided tour of the Center followed.
The Center is the last stage of a prisoner before he goes out for reintegration into society
Asked about the Center, the Minister of Justice and Public Order, Marios Hartsiotis, said that it is a new building, which will house the Center for Guidance, Extra-institutional Employment and Rehabilitation of Prisoners, which is essentially the last stage of a prisoner before he goes out for reintegration into society.
"This is what you have seen very modern centre, very modern building. It is generally part of the modernization of prison facilities in order to alleviate the problem of overcrowding. A problem that is diverse," he said.
He added that "it is not just a matter of the number of prisoners in each cell, but it has its peculiarities in the sense that overcrowding will be something that will help in general."
"Also, yes, it is a measure towards the fight against organized crime in general, as one can easily understand," he added.
As the Minister said, a certain number of prisoners have already been transferred to the new open prison since last February.
"Today the present Center for Guidance, Extra-institutional Employment and Rehabilitation of Prisoners is inaugurated and at the end of September the new closed prison wing in the old building of the open prison is operating with a number of inmates, which will be approximately 240 prisoners. It is understood that with this infrastructure, which is essentially completed in the autumn and is the first phase for alleviating the issue of overcrowding, there will be a solution to the whole problem of 30%," he added.
Concluding, the Minister of Justice said that the problem will be definitively resolved with the completely new Central Prison building, which is being promoted, there is a relevant decision of the Council of Ministers, "will be erected in the wider area where we are today and will cover about another 360 prisoner positions".
