Now that the bubble has burst, they should be held accountable

Statements by AKEL MP A.Damianou on the Central Prison issue

28 November 2022, ‘Astra’ radio station

The big picture that exists in the Central Prison must be examined as while there is an improvement in the treatment of prisoners recorded, for several years now, efforts have been made to embellish and paint a rosy picture of the situation and cover up serious illegalities that are taking place inside the Penitentiary Institution, AKEL MP and lawyer Aristos Damianou revealed, speaking to the morning news program on ‘Astra’ radio.

A.Damianou added that AKEL has been saying this for years while it has again registered the relevant issue for debate in the Parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee since last July.

“We have known and are aware of many wrongdoings, bordering on the illegal, that are taking place inside the Central Prison,” he said. He went on to state that now that the bubble has burst, everyone must be held accountable.

The AKEL MP stated that at this stage the Legal Service’s decision to give transparency to the investigations of the criminal investigators is noted, but at the same time their a la carte attitude in relation to other findings of investigations is being over-emphasized.

A.Damianou recalled the Attorney General’s refusal to hand over to Parliament the findings of the criminal investigator carried out in relation to the black spy van case. Now the Attorney General has chosen to make public a summary of some of the findings of the investigation carried out into what’s going on inside the central prison.

A.Damianou suggested that there is also an institutional conflict between the police and the board of the central prison, but there is also, he said, a political conflict.

He noted that the Minister of Justice should have already reacted, as her predecessors should have done.

We expect, the AKEL MP said, the Justice Minister to take action because she is the political figure in charge and she knows very well what is happening inside the Central Prison. Otherwise, he stressed, political responsibilities will be assigned on her and the DISY government.

It is not acceptable that some forces and circles are shirking their responsibilities, Aristos Damianou said, adding that this public tug-of-war is only damaging

He also called on the prison board, as well as the Police force, to wait for an orderly procedure and then express their position.

We are pointing out, the AKEL MP said, a very dangerous situation as crimes are not only being committed inside the Central Prison, but are also being organized from within and outside the Central Prison.