The prisons opened yesterday and 74 convicts will spend Christmas with their families.
Following actions by the Prison management and in consultation with the Attorney General, a presidential pardon was signed for a total of 74 prisoners. Some 56 are foreigners and the other 18 are Cypriots.
All of them were due to be released in the coming period and the pardon was granted because of the Christmas and New Year holidays, which has become customary in recent years due to the problem of overcrowding that has been plaguing the prisons.
According to philenews, the relevant list of those affected had been forwarded to the Legal Service to check whether they met the criteria set to prevent the release of persons convicted of serious sexual offenses, drugs, and other serious crimes.
Also, another condition set was that those affected would be released from prison by next month.
After the list was approved, it was forwarded by the Legal Service to the Presidential Office for signature and so yesterday the prison gates were opened and the 74 convicts breathed an air of freedom.
Meanwhile, because of the Christmas holidays, the prison management has decided to modify the daily schedule of the prisoners by including festive activities and extra visits by their relatives.
