The criteria for the release of prisoners with an electronic band are expanded, in an effort to reintegrate more quickly into society but also to alleviate the problem of overcrowding in the Central Prisons.
In view of the arrival in Cyprus of members of the appropriate Committee of the Council of Europe next Friday, the issue of overcrowding becomes again one of the first to be raised. The Ministry of Justice and Public Order last week put to public consultation the bill entitled "the Prisons (Amendment) Law of 2026", which aims to expand the institution of electronic surveillance of convicts, based on the recommendations of the Committee against Torture of the Council of Europe (CPT) and the Legal Service.
Specifically, the bill provides:
(a) Explicitly the possibility of the Parole Board to order the application of electronic monitoring to convicts whose application for release on leave is approved, in order to monitor the implementation of the conditions it imposes,
(b) The extension of the time frame that electronic monitoring can be applied to persons sentenced to imprisonment of more than 12 months and less than 5 years and have served half of their sentence, from 12 to 18 months.
(c) The possibility of applying electronic monitoring to persons who have been sentenced to a prison sentence of less than 18 months, instead of 12 as provided for by the existing law and have served 1/3 of their sentence.
(d) For convicts who have joined a drug rehabilitation program or are 70 years of age or older, so that their inclusion in the Open Prison is not a prerequisite for the approval of their request for electronic monitoring.
With the approval of these conditions by the new Parliament, it is expected that the number of prisoners who will be able to serve the rest of their sentence at home or at work will be drastically increased, provided that they meet the conditions set by the legislator. At the moment, the number of those who benefit from this institution, which dates back more than a decade, is considered small, since few fell within the existing criteria. Also, there was a numerical limitation because availability of electronic bands were also limited, while now supply has increased significantly.
The monitoring of a prisoner electronically is done from a special room in the Central Prison. The electronic band worn mainly on the leg, emits a signal and if there is a violation of the designated area where a prisoner must be, then a notice of violation of the conditions is sent and the Police are informed. Many prisoners take advantage of the opportunity to be out of prison and work while being monitored electronically, so that they can integrate into society more smoothly.
The big issue concerns the extension of the institution to the prisoners. Today, more than 200 people are locked in cells either inside prisons or in police detention centers awaiting their trial. Previously, during the ministry of Emily Giolitis, a bill had been prepared so that the convicts could also be sent home with an electronic band, however, there was no agreement in Parliament on who could benefit from this development, while there was also a reaction from the courts. In the end, this project was left in the middle at a time when at least half of the defendants would be under house arrest if a Judge decided to do so. The issue is one of the priorities of the Ministry of Justice, however, it is still being studied since there are some reactions.
