DEPORTATION INSTEAD OF IMPRISONMENT FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS UNDER DISCUSSION
The problem of overcrowding in Central Prisons is getting worse day by day, with the Minister of Justice having already submitted her suggestions for a solution to the President of the Republic.
As Minister Anna Koukkides Prokopiou said yesterday, a large part of the detainees are people with a migrant orientation, meaning they are convicted not of ordinary criminal offences, but because they tried to travel outside Cyprus with false or travel documents belonging to others. On the issue of tackling overcrowding, the Minister has already submitted specific suggestions to the President of the Republic since last week, mainly concerning changes in prison facilities.
At the same time, solutions are being studied for those convicted of immigration-related offenses, so that they are not held in prisons, thus exacerbating the problem of overcrowding, while their final result is to be deported.
One of the solutions being discussed is, according to F’s information, for people convicted of immigration-related offenses to be given power to the courts, instead of imprisonment, to order their detention and deportation. In this way, prisons will not be burdened with persons who will be deported anyway. Today, the food and accommodation of a convict costs more than €100 per day, while there are no living quarters, resulting in some sleeping even on the floor.
On the issue of overcrowding, which is currently the number one problem in prisons, there will be developments soon, as we have duly mentioned, since the situation is very difficult. More than 120 people who have committed no offence other than impersonating them while trying to travel to another European country are currently being detained.
