Nicosia district court remanded four prison officers and a trainee police officer in custody for seven days on Friday in connection with the discovery of 300,000 pages of state documents at a prison officer’s home.
The documents, found in black and white bags marked “Cyprus Prisons Department,” include architectural plans of the central prison, inmate files, and confidential disciplinary investigation reports, investigator Chrysostomos Christou told the court.
Digital discs containing CCTV footage from June 2003 to May 2022 and recorded telephone conversations of inmates were also recovered, along with 478 digital storage devices, the police sub-inspector said.
According to witness testimony, documents were removed from the Prisons Department directorate offices between November and December 2022 using trolleys that bypassed the standard security checkpoint at the guardhouse.
“The documents were placed in trolleys which were moved from the area below the directorate offices and then exited through a door before the guardhouse, called the directorate door, without passing through the guardhouse,” Christou testified.
The four female defendants served in the directorate office while the male prison officer worked in the archives alongside the officer at whose home the documents were discovered, the court heard.
Witnesses reported seeing at least one suspect loading boxes of documents into an official vehicle, while two female suspects allegedly gave instructions regarding the loading of documents. The transfers occurred during working hours in some instances.
When new Acting Director Ioannis Kapnoullas took office on 11 January 2023, he found only furniture and office equipment in the previous director’s offices, which had remained locked since the former director and deputy director went on sick leave on 2 January 2023.
Defence lawyers Dimitris Apaisiotis, Giannis Polychronis, Alexandros Klirides and Giorgos Papaioannou challenged the prosecution’s evidence, noting the absence of proof regarding the contents of the bags or their final destination.
The lawyers also questioned why authorities had not re-arrested the prison officer who possessed the documents after the Court of Appeals released him on Wednesday in a separate case.
All five suspects denied involvement in the alleged offences. The Prisons Department has suspended the four prison officers from duty, while the Police Chief initiated procedures to place the trainee officer on administrative leave.
The investigator indicated that further developments and arrests may follow as the investigation continues.
The courtroom was packed with relatives, friends and prison staff supporting their colleagues, including former acting prison director Athina Dimitriou, now an official at the Audit Οffice.
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