Filenews 3 December 2025 - by Michalis Chatzivasilis
After eight consecutive appointments of members of the Police to the position of director of the Central Prisons, in most of which the appointees either resigned or were removed, yesterday the tactics changed and a person from within was appointed to the position.
From 2002 until yesterday, eight directors or deputy directors of Prisons were appointed, all from the ranks of the Police, half of whom resigned, others were dismissed and one ended up in prison as a convict (note: two months in prison for Kita's escape).
Yesterday, after the resignation of the Deputy Director of Prisons, Konstantinos Konstantinidis, who comes from the ranks of the Police, the senior officer of the Prisons, Maria Shiali, was appointed in his place. It was judged by the Ministry of Justice that it would be more appropriate for the next few months, until a new Prison Director is appointed, to take over a person from within, which is why the next in the hierarchy after the director was preferred.
Already yesterday, the EDY proceeded with the announcement of the position of director, which has been held since 2014 by Anna Aristotelous.
The latter, although she left the Prison in 2022, after the events with the Police officer, nevertheless continued to hold the position until the day before yesterday, which is why the Ministry of Justice was forced to resort to substitute appointments. It is for this reason that he resorted to the solution of the Police officers, which was the easiest, not the most ideal.
The resignation of Mr. Konstantinidis was not a bolt from the blue, since it came at a time when the Prisons are plagued by multiple problems, they are constantly in the eye of the storm, due to internal issues, the case of the documents had broken out, while now the testimony of a prisoner has come to light for the alleged favourable treatment of her by the previous management. The decision to change the address was made a long time ago, in an attempt to bring calm to the penitentiary after the repeated complaints inside and outside about various events.
The source of the complaints was almost the same and was often attributed to the former management duo and the post-affair situation of the documents.
Regarding the situation in the Prisons, the staff unions often sounded the alarm, asked for changes, brought back the demand for new Prisons, etc. In fact, the prison guards branch of the "Equality" trade union wanted the ass. director and the senior officer not even talking due to the situation that had been created.
The Government estimates that these changes, especially with the appointment of a permanent director, without the substitute appointments of persons from the ranks of the Police, will solve several problems, while at the same time actions are being taken to permanently solve both the problem of mobile phones and overcrowding.
It is noted that, according to information from "F", neither Mr. Konstantinidis nor Ms. Shiali will be candidates for the position of director of Prisons that has already been announced. It is expected that before the first 6 months of 2026 we will have a new Director of Prisons, who will now be able to make his plans in consultation with the competent ministry, so that the Prisons can move to the new state of affairs without external burdens and obstacles.
