Urine tests for the detection of illegal substances in prisoners, based on the relevant article of the Law on prisons, are carried out daily by the Department of Prisons, as stated in a relevant announcement.
With reference to a publication entitled "Drugs in Prisons by the Courts - Explicit instruction for control by the Chief of Police" dated February 1, 2024, the Department of Prisons notes that "the information mentioned, that Cyprus is one of the three countries of the Old Continent in which there is no drug testing of inmates in the penitentiary institutions, they are not stable."
It is added that urine tests are carried out by trained members of staff, daily on a random basis or on information, after their return from the Courts, before their admission to the Open Prison and the Out-of-Institutional Guidance and Rehabilitation Center and after their return of prisoners on leave with or without escort.
It is noted that after the detection of an error by the Cyprus Addiction Management Authority in a report by the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction, with relevant passages, the situation in Cyprus was correctly reflected and this information was updated on the EMCDDA website in October 2022.
Source: KYPE