Efforts to tackle prison overpopulation are ongoing, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Tuesday at the opening of a new high-security wing at the Central Prisons.
The project transformed an existing open wing to a closed one, at a cost of €1.8m including VAT, while the electromechanical works and security systems amounted to €2.4m, according to the transport ministry.
It includes 97 cells, four dorms, a teaching room, dentistry, doctor’s office, visiting room, a gym, a basketball court, a kitchen, a restaurant, and can accommodate 240 inmates.
“The Central Prisons were constructed in 1894 and the infrastructure isn’t enough to meet demands, making daily operations harder, degrading prisoners’ living conditions, and creating significant problems in their proper and safe custody,” Christodoulides said.
He pledged the government was committed to modernising the prison service and improving overpopulation issues, which have been documented in numerous reports, including the Council of Europe’s anti-torture report earlier this year.
Christodoulides said when he took over as president, the prison could handle 620 prisoners but there were over 1,000 inmates. Today, around 100 convicts are held in detention centres after the justice ministry declared them prison cells.

It took 11 months to complete the works on the new wing, which were wrapped at the end of November, the ministry said.
Completing them in less than a year sent a message to the civil service that efficient works could be carried out, Christodoulides said.
He underlined that after a cabinet decision in June last year, the justice minister put forth a multi-level plan to upgrade prisons, which included the new closed prison wing.
“This is a large-scale project which is based on the recommendations and standards set by all relevant international and European organisations both in terms of prison security and respect for the human rights of prisoners,” Christodoulides said.
It includes the construction of a new 360-bed closed prison wing, at a cost of €35m which is expected to be completed in early 2028.
“With the completion of both phases of the projects, for which a special provision has been made to meet the educational, therapeutic, rehabilitation and support needs of prisoners, the prisons will be able to accommodate around 1,200 people,” he added.
“Thus, the capacity of 620 we took over at the beginning of our administration will almost double by 2028, leading to a definitive decongestion of the Central Prisons.”
Christodoulides added the government is also taking measures to address understaffing “to ensure the prison’s proper and human-centred operation, proper supervision and maintenance of order and security.”
Since last September, 72 of the existing vacancies for prison guards have been filled and another 77 vacancies have already been advertised to be filled, he said.
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