One third of foreigners who end up in prison waiting for their trial in the end are found not guilty. As a result the prisons and the state are burdened due to their long imprisonment. Even people whose only crime was the fact that they came to Cyprus illegally are imprisoned.
According to prison statistics for the years 2015-2019, the percentage of foreigners ending up in Central Prisons is 49% compared to 59% in previous years. From this 49% only 64% are sentenced while the remaining 36% is set free. As can be seen, one in three remains in prison unnecessarily.
Also according to statistics, 1/3 of foreigners in prison are held for illegal staying, an offence about which they should have been arrested and deported immediately.
As a result of this, overcrowding in prisons gets worse and the cost of feeding these people increases, since according to calculations each inmate costs 100 euros per day for food and accommodation.
The day before yesterday there were 670 inmates while the prisons’ capacity is only for 460 people.
Moreover, there are people there who are convicted of minor offences, for example for stealing a bottle of whisky.
(philenews)
