The justice ministry said is taking active measures to address the overcrowding of prisons, an issue Cyprus has been slammed for in a Council of Europe report, it said on Monday.

The ministry said the European report published on July 15 covered the period from January 2023 to January 2024 and therefore did not include all the measures that have been taken in the meantime to address the issues mentioned in it.

The overcrowding of prisons was already a serious issue when the government of Nikos Christodoulides took over in 2023 and since then a strategic plan has been drafted and is currently being implemented, the ministry said.

In 2024, projects implemented increased the prison capacity by 30 per cent.

These projects included a new open prison to accommodate up to 60 prisoners, a centre for outside employment for convicts for up to 40 prisoners and a new closed wing with a capacity of 240 prisoners.

The next phase of the plan includes another closed prison wing with a capacity of 360 prisoners.

Overall, when all projects in the pipeline are completed, detention capacity will have increased by 100 per cent compared to 2023.

The justice ministry said the new measures have allowed for the better separation of prisoners and alleviated the detention situation at police stations.