Security at police detention centres will be discussed on Monday following the escape of a 19-year-old remand prisoner from the Lakatamia holding cells on Friday night.
Justice Minister Costas Fitiris told the Cyprus News Agency that the issue would be on the agenda of his regular meeting with the chief of police on Monday afternoon.
The meeting will examine possible measures to address longstanding overcrowding at detention facilities, he said.
Fitiris said the matter fell under the responsibility of the police leadership, which held an emergency meeting on Saturday following the escape.
Meanwhile, a 45-year-old man arrested in connection with the escape was remanded in custody for five days by Nicosia district court on Sunday.
The man was arrested on Saturday under a court warrant on suspicion of assisting an criminal offender.
Nicosia CID is continuing its investigation into the escape.
The minister added that any measures deemed necessary to improve conditions and security at police detention centres would be examined during Monday’s meeting.
The Cyprus prisons department operates separately from the Cyprus police, handling convicted individuals at the central prisons, while the police manage short-term holding cells at local stations.
According to data released earlier in 2026 by the EU’s statistics agency Eurostat, prison cells in Cyprus are on average the most overcrowded in the entire European Union.
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