Filenews 14 November 2025 - by Michalis Chatzivasilis
The Government is ready for cuts in the Central Prisons, with the Minister of Justice having made his plans to solve the chronic problems that plague our penitentiary.
The multiple problems as well as internal issues that arise almost daily, are accelerating the adoption of measures, while the position of the director of the Central Prisons is expected to be announced soon, after the acceptance of the appointment of the former director Anna Aristotelous as general director. This development is estimated to help the prisons a lot, since it will allow the new director to make long-term plans, as the solutions with a deputy director seem to have not worked.
At the moment, prisons are plagued by the problem of overcrowding and the large number of foreign prisoners, some of whom are constantly creating issues. Complaints concerning the treatment of prisoners are also increasing, while the staff has reached, according to information from "F", its limits.
The situation is anything but rosy as complaints are constantly being filed about alleged abuse or inhumane treatment of prisoners, while the humane treatment in some cases is disputed by lawyers and prisoners. At the moment, there are several open issues that do not help the smooth operation of the prisons, despite the great efforts made to alleviate the problem of overcrowding and the pilot operation of the mobile phone deactivation system, which is estimated to solve the problem with mobile phones entering the cells illegally.
The management of the prison with its peculiarities (old buildings, tired staff, overcrowding) is not the best, while a characteristic of the picture is that important members of the prison are on sick leave for months. The case of the prison documents that were found in the house of the chief guard seven months ago is also considered an open wound and it is still not clear what will happen. The extension of the suspension of five staff members will soon expire and they will have to return to their positions, since no further extension can be requested. This issue affects the proper functioning of the prison anyway, since there are mutual accusations between the previous management and some current managers or inspectors, while at the same time the staff union, Equality, warned in a letter about the safety issues of the staff arising from the old facilities, which exceeded the limits of their endurance. The union requested the establishment of a new prison outside Nicosia, however from calculations made, the cost for new prisons is today beyond prohibitive, as it is estimated by Public Works to reach €200 million. So, having no other choice, the Government will continue its planning for a new prison with a capacity of 360 prisoners with a completion horizon of 2027.
