The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) of the Council of Europe expressed serious concerns about high levels of inter-prisoner violence and the inability of staff to ensure prisoner safety at Nicosia Central Prisons. The committee published these findings today in a report on its ad hoc visit to Cyprus in April 2025, along with the response of the Cypriot authorities.
According to a Council of Europe announcement, the delegation examined the treatment and conditions of detention at Nicosia Central Prisons, various police stations, the Pournara First Reception Centre and the detention facilities at Larnaca Airport.
The committee noted that authorities had taken some positive measures to implement recommendations from previous visits in 2017 and 2023. These include a reduction in allegations of physical ill-treatment by staff at Nicosia Central Prisons and improvements in living conditions and hygiene at Pournara. However, many long-standing shortcomings identified in previous visit reports persist.
Violence and staffing issues
“At Nicosia Central Prisons, the Committee for the Prevention of Torture expressed serious concern about high levels of inter-prisoner violence and the inability of prison staff to ensure prisoner safety. Chronic shortages of frontline officers have allowed stronger prisoner groups to dominate and impose informal punishments, undermining safety and order. The Cypriot authorities must urgently recruit and train more staff, regain control of the prisons and review the prison violence prevention policy,” the report states.
Overcrowding and living conditions
Living conditions at Nicosia Central Prisons remain very poor, worsened by severe overcrowding. Up to four prisoners share cells smaller than 6 square metres, with two forced to sleep on mattresses on the floor. These cells are almost inadequate even for one person.
Access to toilets also remains insufficient. More than half the wings lack in-cell sanitation facilities. Due to staffing shortages preventing prisoners from leaving cells at night to use wing toilets, prisoners had to urinate in bottles and sometimes defecate in bags, a practice the committee considers degrading.
Detention of juveniles
The committee also found that children and young adults continue to face detention in unsuitable and unhygienic conditions at Nicosia Central Prisons. Some minors sleep on floor mattresses in mouldy, graffiti-covered cells without access to education or meaningful activities. Many children reported feeling cold, hungry and bored.
“The Committee for the Prevention of Torture stresses that Nicosia Central Prisons is an unsuitable place for detaining children and calls for their rapid transfer to appropriate juvenile facilities,” the report notes.
Women prisoners and healthcare
For female prisoners, the committee supports adopting a gender-specific approach that addresses their particular needs.
“Healthcare provision at Nicosia Central Prisons remains inadequate. Medical confidentiality must strengthen. For example, medical staff, not prison officers, should distribute medication. The committee also calls on authorities to develop a comprehensive suicide prevention policy and strengthen measures to address substance use,” the report states on this issue.
Police detention facilities
In police facilities, the committee found that individuals continue to face detention under police custody for prolonged periods, in many cases months, in conditions generally suitable only for a few days.
Most detainees stated that police treated them correctly. However, the delegation received some allegations of physical ill-treatment and verbal abuse. “Authorities must reinforce the zero-tolerance policy towards any ill-treatment practices,” the report notes.
Improvements at Pournara but ongoing concerns
At the Pournara First Reception Centre, conditions have improved significantly since the 2023 visit. However, asylum seekers could remain at the centre for months awaiting examination results, particularly age assessments. The problem was especially acute for unaccompanied boys detained in overcrowded and less suitable facilities.
“The committee reiterates that detention should serve only as a last resort,” it adds.
The Committee for the Prevention of Torture also highlights limited access to psychiatric care, lack of organised activities for adults and near-total absence of educational or recreational opportunities for children. Vulnerability assessments remain inconsistent, and protection for identified vulnerable persons is minimal.
“The committee calls on Cypriot authorities to ensure all detained asylum seekers receive individualised detention orders stating the reasons for detention, legal safeguards and appeal possibilities. The committee also requests immediate measures to end the detention of children, including unaccompanied and separated minors,” the announcement concludes.
Read the whole report here.
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