The House of Representatives on Friday approved a government bill doubling the out of court fine for violating the stay at home decree from €150 to €300.
It also approved bills extending the use of home monitoring with an ankle bracelet for a larger number of prisoners and amending prison rules so that more inmates can serve in Open prison and extend their stay at the off prison occupation centre.
Justice Minister Yiorgos Savvides thanked the House for convening specially for this reason and sending the message to the public that political forces can forge consensus in critical times.
“I would also like to note that the three independent branches of government, the executive, legislative and judiciary have shown their readiness and decisiveness to contribute to the implementation of measures to break the chain of transmission of coronavirus,” he said in a written statement.
Even though most cases are suspended, the courts have quickly taken up cases relating to the decree, he added.
He also thanked Disy MP Annita Demetriou who had conveyed to him her draft bill regarding the ankle bracelet which formed the basis for the government bill.
The minister thanked the prison service for their cooperation and the attorney general and legal service for quickly reviewing the three bills so that they can be enacted within four days.
