Nicosia, Cyprus. Human rights commissioner Maria Stylianou Lottides on Friday expressed concern that third-country nationals detained in Cyprus for lacking required residence documents are often subjected to prolonged administrative detention in police holding cells. She said people had been held in cells in Larnaca and Limassol for as long as six months.
Detention in police holding cells
Speaking during a meeting with the Council of Europe’s committee for the prevention of torture, Lottides said police holding cells should not be used for prolonged administrative detention. She called for those currently being held in such cells to be transferred as soon as possible to specialised facilities, including the migrant detention centre in Limnes near Menoyia in Larnaca district.
Airport facilities
Lottides said the detention facilities at Larnaca and Paphos airports are not suitable for detention for more than a very short period. She said the facilities at both airports do not provide access to outdoor space, natural light, or fresh air.
She added that people should not be held in the cells at either airport for more than 24 hours and called for the creation of an appropriate alternative facility.
Pournara reception centre
Lottides said there have been substantial improvements at the Pournara migrant reception centre in recent years, but that a number of unaccompanied minors remain there.
She said 143 people are currently housed at the Pournara centre, including eight unaccompanied minors. According to Lottides, those eight are expected to be transferred soon to specialised accommodation facilities.
She said the figure marks a significant reduction compared with 2022, when more than 2,000 people had been housed at the centre.
Central prison overcrowding
Mitchell, meanwhile, focused on the central prison, saying that when he first visited Cyprus on behalf of the committee in 2008, around 520 inmates were housed there, and that the number has more than doubled in the 18 years since.
He said the increase creates major challenges for both staff and prisoners’ living conditions, adding that overcrowding has led to more violence between prisoners and has made it harder for staff to effectively control the wings.