Juvenile detention units planned beside central prisons, with completion expected next October

Nicosia, Cyprus. Justice Minister Costas Fitiris told the House finance committee on Monday that juveniles would be accommodated in portacabins beside the central prisons, instead of at Menoyia. He said the facility was now expected to be ready by next October.

Juvenile accommodation and new prison

Presenting his ministry’s budget for next year, Fitiris said 30 minors were currently imprisoned at the central prisons. He explained that time and cost constraints had dictated the choice of portacabins, which could also be relocated once the new prison was built.

The initial schedule had envisaged a juvenile detention centre being ready around next June.

The committee also heard proposals for a prison at Ayios Sozomenos accommodating approximately 1,500 inmates. The project’s current estimated cost is €300 million, with construction expected to require five years.

Menoyia to accommodate remand detainees

Fitiris said Menoyia, previously a migrant detention facility containing 160 cells, would instead become a police holding centre for people on remand. It would also function as a transfer unit for prisoners travelling to court.

He told MPs that repairs were in progress, with completion targeted before year-end. Paphos would retain a separate detention centre because of distance and operational considerations.

Describing pressure on police detention facilities, Fitiris put occupancy at 180 per cent of capacity. He cited a recent arrest in Ayia Napa in which the suspect had to be taken to Paphos because no closer facility had space.

According to reports, police cells are holding over 200 people under poor conditions. The ministry intends to revive legislation permitting some low-risk defendants to remain at home under electronic monitoring.

Questions over the timetable

Disy MP Fotini Tsiridou said information about the next steps was lacking. She recalled that the ministry had sought an extension to the 2021 law last November because the Menoyia premises would not be ready.

Tsiridou said MPs had indicated then that they would not grant another such extension.