A letter from the prisoners of the Central Prison in which complaints are made about incidents of violence, overcrowding in prisons, poor quality and small quantity of food and the abolition of educational and correctional programs that were in operation earlier, was sent to the President of the Republic by the Association for the Protection of Prisoners' Rights & Support Released, with the request to study it and take immediate corrective measures.
In the letter, which is made public by the Association for the Protection of the Rights of Prisoners & Support of Released Persons, it is mentioned, among other things, that on December 17 President Christodoulidis will inaugurate the new wing of the Central Prisons, together with the Minister of Justice and the deputy Director of Prisons.
"We don't know what they are transferring to you, but what we know and see is that you will inaugurate a wing that is not ready, just because the Minister has been appearing in the media for a few months promising that it would be ready from September, but we of the insiders, we find that you are also a victim of misinformation", it states.
There is talk of "a show played at the expense of the prisoners, since it seems that the concern is the inauguration and getting your name written on the inauguration plaque, without really caring what happens inside the Penitentiary. And we say Penitentiary and we emphasize it so that it is embedded in you and your Minister, because if you really knew what the situation is, it is not just a Penitentiary".
On the contrary, the letter states, "the situation is reminiscent of old bad times for which Cyprus was condemned by Europe and which had changed, but unfortunately some prisoners then sacrificed and lost their lives until the prisons became a Penitentiary Institution, in the standards of Europe and respecting human rights".
"Struggles were held and for years there was a daily effort to change situations, attitudes and apply regulations and respect human rights. As you know the goal is to imprison the prisoners and not to punish them, nor to point fingers at us as criminals. Unfortunately, in recent years the situation in the Prisons has worsened and it looks like a game of survival", it is noted.
It is also reported that there is no prison policy, there are no programs like before, schools are closed, there are no activities "and there is no humane approach that will give the prisoners an impetus to change, to try to change".
It is complained that "there are daily incidents of violence, a show of force by persons of the Directorate or by prison guards who carry out instructions and do not hesitate to beat even prisoners, the quality of the food reminds us of feeding prisoners of Alcatraz, they even reduced the amount of food, they also reduced our they suffer with the visits because there is allegedly no staff while it is the same as in previous years without any issues. There is a huge overcrowding problem and prisoners are sleeping on the ground or four to a 2X2 cell,” it added.
The situation in the prison "has been out of control for some time now," they conclude.
Source: KYPE
