Improvement plan at prison before new facility is built

Immediate measures to improve the situation within the central prison are to be implemented before the construction of a new facility is completed, Justice Minister Costas Fitiris said on Tuesday.

Fitiris said that a clear schedule for measures to be implemented within the next three to six months was set out during a meeting with the directorate of the central prison, the department of public works and the electromechanical service.

The measures are considered an interim solution to improve the living conditions of inmates.

The measures will include general renovation works, the creation of a separate entrance for prison staff, a new clothing warehouse, the construction of a new health clinic, a new laundry and the implementation of a system aimed at preventing the use of mobile phones in the central prison.

Fitiris added that a range of other measures to ease the pressure on the facility have been introduced, including the use of a surveillance system to monitor and possibly expand the conditional release of convicts, with the minister assuring these would be carried out under full assurance of public safety.

Fitiris had on Monday said that a comprehensive set of measures to address the persisting problems in the central prison would be presented by the end of March and were likely to include a mobile phone signal interruption system.

Rather than initial plans to expand the existing facilities, amounting to an estimated cost of €40 to €50 million, the minister had earlier proposed the creation of a new facility outside of the urban area of Nicosia.

Fitiris said that the government aimed to complete the design of a new facility within a year, however added that construction may take up to five years, even if works were to begin immediately.

The situation in Cyprus’ central prison has long been a subject of public debate.

The public outcry reached a peak after the Council of Europe’s committee for the prevention of torture issued a report voicing “grave concerns” about persisting conditions in the central prison in December 2025.

In its report, the committee found that inmates experienced “very poor” living conditions, due to severe overcrowding and insufficient access to sanitary facilities.

The committee said that up to four prisoners were currently sharing cells measuring less than six square metres and that some of them were forced to “urinate in bottles and, at times, defecate in bags” due to a lack of prison staff available to let them out of their cell.