The Prison Officers’ Branch Council of the ISOTITA union has raised serious allegations over conditions at Nicosia Central Prison, citing understaffing, overcrowding, violent incidents, drug trafficking and what it describes as an inability to run the facility safely.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the union said two simultaneous clashes between inmates broke out on August 5, in Wing 5 and Wing 2B. It said one inmate was injured in the Wing 5 incident.
ISOTITA said the incidents were not an “isolated bad day” but part of a documented pattern. Among the cases it cited was an allegation of rape involving an inmate in Wing 5 in September 2025, which the union said remains under investigation at an advanced stage.
The union also cited a clash involving sharp objects in Wing 1B in June 2026, in which someone was injured and improvised weapons were seized, as well as a stabbing in a maximum-security wing in July. During that incident, according to the statement, a staff member was taken to hospital after inhaling smoke.
ISOTITA also referred to a court case involving drug trafficking inside the prison, and to a report by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, arguing that chronic understaffing makes it harder to protect both inmates and staff.
The union further alleged an attempt at “silencing,” saying that on July 31 the then vice-president and press spokesperson of the Branch Council was dismissed without notice or compensation, and was subsequently elected the Council’s president. It said disciplinary proceedings remain pending against six union officials, with none yet concluded.
ISOTITA said it has already submitted its demands in writing, giving a seven-day deadline for a response. It is calling for full protection from biological hazards, adequate staffing, immediate decongestion and humane working conditions.
“We are not asking for immunity. We are asking for a state that controls its prisons,” the statement concludes, signed by Georgios Maltezos, president of the Prison Officers’ Branch Council.
Read more:
