The Commissioner for Administration and Human Rights, Maria Stylianou-Lottides notes in her report concerning the conditions prevailing in the detention facilities of the Limassol Police Directorate some remarkable findings following an unannounced visit on 26th March 2024, as the National Preventive Mechanism against Torture.
The report indicates that if the conditions in the Limassol Police Directorate’s detention cells remain as they are today, they cannot be considered compatible with international standards for detaining any prisoner.
As highlighted in the 17-page report published yesterday, the detention cells remain in a state of poor infrastructure, overcrowding is recorded, some detainees share their cells with others, and there are instances where prisoners sleep on mattresses on the floor.
“This particular fact raises concern as it does not align with international standards,” the report notes.
In the wing for convicted, sentenced, and remand prisoners, as well as in the hygiene areas, despite being cleaned, they still emit a strong odour that spreads throughout the wing, and the overall appearance is not suitable and requires immediate renovation or replacement.
Regarding the juvenile wing, it is noted that although the appearance of this specific wing is described as satisfactory, it cannot be deemed appropriate for housing children, and under the circumstances, it is considered unsuitable for the detention of juvenile inmates.
In the administrative wing, the lighting is inadequate, a situation exacerbated by the absence of windows in the cells.
It is worth mentioning that problems in the detention facilities were also identified during the visit of the Council of Europe in 2017, which were recorded in a report.
However, as it appears to date, nothing has been done about it.
