The justice ministry confirmed on Friday A prison guard employed on an indefinite contract has been dismissed for dereliction of duty, after an investigation found repeated failures to comply.

The ministry said the decision followed the findings of the investigation and “the evaluation of all the evidence presented to the minister”.

Reports identified the dismissed employee as Giorgos Maltezos, vice president and press secretary of prison officer’s branch of the trade union Isotita (Equality).

Maltezos had recently raised allegations concerning conditions at the prisons department and criticised the department’s leadership and Justice Minister Costas Fitiris.

The ministry said investigators found “repeated noncompliance with official instructions and decisions of the Prisons Department”.

According to the statement, the employee had been “systematically absent from his duties on specific days of the week” without receiving the required approval from the competent authority, despite repeated written and verbal instructions.

It described the conduct as “a serious breach of official duties” adding that the behaviour affected discipline and the proper functioning of the service.

The statement however did not address the allegations previously levied by Maltezos regarding the prisons department.