Cyprus plans new central prison costing €300 million after podcast recorded from cell

Cyprus Justice Minister Costas Fitiris admitted that a convict at the Central Prison managed to bypass controls and take part in a podcast directly from behind bars. “He deceived us,” the minister said on the programme “Enimerosi Tora”, adding that the incident exposed a gap in how the ministry checks prisoners’ electronic communications.

Convicts whose relatives are unable to visit them for various reasons are allowed to contact them by computer at set intervals. This is exactly what the prisoner took advantage of: he spoke only Turkish, and there is no translator at the Central Prison, so no one could assess the content of the conversation. Formally, he identified the person he was calling, but the service could not verify whom he was actually communicating with.

To close this loophole, new software will be installed at the prison. “We will strengthen this work so that we know whom each person is speaking to,” Fitiris said. He also acknowledged other problems at the facility: in his view, conflicts and altercations are to be expected in such a place, while the only instruction to the prison management is to follow the regulations.

At the same time, the government is designing a new central prison: according to the minister, there is limited scope for making changes to the existing buildings. The master plan will be presented in September, when consultations will also begin with communities that could be affected by the construction. In addition to the site at Mathiatis, alternative options are being considered — “Plan B” and “Plan C” — with construction expected to take place on state-owned land to avoid the cost of acquiring plots.

The initial cost estimate for the project is around €300 million. The government is looking for ways to finance at least part of it with European funding: according to Fitiris, the European Investment Bank has already responded positively. The infrastructure around the future prison — electricity supply, sewage and other utilities — is being costed separately.