It is not the first time the Council of Europe’s committee for the prevention of torture has issued a damning report about Nicosia central prison, expressing “grave concerns” about the “serious problems” its members saw when they visited in April. Similar observations were made in the past, but nothing has been done to improve things since then. If anything, the situation seems to be getting worse with two inmates killed in the prison, one as recently as last week.
The report attributes many of the problems to the “chronic shortage of frontline officers”, which leads to a “failure of prison staff to ensure the safety of those in custody”. The shortage, it added, resulted in prisoners taking control of the prison, although this was put more diplomatically, the report saying that it “allowed stronger prisoner groups to dominate and impose informal punishments, undermining safety and order”.
This was nothing new for people who follow the news here. Whenever there is a serious crime like murder, one of the first places police investigators visit is the Nicosia central prison to question convicts, allegedly connected to the criminal underworld. In some cases, there is speculation that the crime was planned and organised by prisoners although it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to pin anything on someone serving time. This, however, is indicative of the lack of control the prison authorities have over the prisons. Another example of the lack of control is the consistent failure of the prison authorities to prevent the use of mobile phones by inmates. For years, the authorities have been trying and failing.
Apart from the shortage of staff the report also identified the acute shortage of space, a persistent problem that existed for years and everyone is aware of. There has been talk about the construction of new prisons because the Nicosia central prison is a remnant of colonial times, but no government has moved from words to action yet. Perhaps this is because the construction and equipping of a modern prison will cost a significant amount of money, without winning any votes. Nobody will vote for a president because he spent tens of million of euros on a new prison, so no government has shown any real interest in building new prisons.
Yet the overcrowding must be addressed because it can only get worse. There are, according to the Council of Europe report, instances of four inmates staying in a cell less than six square metres in area, while “some minors have been sleeping on mattresses on the floor in mouldy, graffiti-covered cells.” More than half the prison’s blocks were “lacking in in-cell sanitary facilities”, which meant prisoners did not have access to toilets at night.
The construction of new prisons is an imperative. The government must find the funds to take the big decision. A modern, properly equipped prison would be easier to administer and the prison authorities would be in a better position to exercise greater control over convicts.
