The president of the association for the protection of the rights of prisoners and detainees, Alexandros Clerides, said on Tuesday that the government must be held accountable for the chronic overcrowding in Cyprus’ prisons, which currently operate at 200 per cent capacity.

“The state itself is responsible for overpopulation, as it is for the absolute respect of the rights of prisoners,” Clerides wrote in an opinion piece for the news site Reporter.

He described prison conditions in detail, stressing that the problems could not be attributed solely to overcrowding.

Clerides noted that just one welfare and mental health officer is currently on duty, responsible for all 1,000 inmates of the central prison. This, he said, made it impossible for the officer to carry out his duties effectively due to lack of time and resources.

Clerides, a lawyer, also criticised what he called “difficult and limited access” to legal counsel, pointing out that visiting hours for lawyers often coincide with those for family visits.

As a result, he said, lawyers and clients are sometimes forced to meet on benches or in vestibules, disrupting visits between inmates and their families.

Clerides added that overcrowding has also affected the way privileges such as prison leave or community work placements are allocated, warning that these are essential for the gradual reintegration of inmates into society.

“In cells made for two people, anyone else who must sleep there improvises a bed from crates and mattresses on the floor,” he wrote. He said similar problems affect the prison canteen, with many inmates eating in their cells because kitchen facilities cannot cope with demand.

Sanitary conditions, he stressed, are also dire. “Toilets and bathrooms built to serve 500 people ultimately serve 1,000, with the cleaners being the prisoners themselves,” Clerides wrote.

He further condemned the widespread smoking in prison, noting that non-smokers were given no consideration. “The reality is that today the wings and cells are stifling smoking rooms,” he said.

Clerides also highlighted the consequences of inadequate staffing levels. The shortage of guards, he said, has allowed “informal hierarchies among prisoners” to emerge, which have now become integral to the functioning of the facility.

He argued that these conditions amount to violations of Articles 1, 3 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Overcrowding and neglect, he warned, create fertile ground for violence, drug use, trafficking and other forms of delinquency.

“Therefore, if we want to correct delinquent behaviour, the basis is always respect for rights and then any demand,” Clerides concluded.

Cyprus’ central prison, with an occupancy rate of 226.2 per cent, is the most overcrowded in Europe.

Earlier in May, the union of prison guards warned that severe understaffing was leading to “increasingly volatile conditions.”

The government partly rejected responsibility, saying that when it came to power the prisons were already operating at 170 per cent capacity. It added that expansion projects were underway, with three new detention facilities completed in the past year, raising the overall capacity to 860 inmates.

In 2024, further projects increased prison capacity by 30 per cent. These included a new open prison for 60 inmates, a centre for outside employment for 40 inmates, and a new closed wing for 240 prisoners. Another closed wing with capacity for 360 inmates is in the next phase of the plan.

After the Council of Europe criticised Cyprus in July over overcrowding, the justice ministry said it was “taking active measures” to address the issue. The ministry added that the report covered only the period from January 2023 to January 2024 and did not reflect more recent steps taken under its strategic plan to improve prison conditions.