The House Human Rights Committee on Monday heard allegations of human rights abuse in the Athalassa Psychiatric Hospital.
MPs and experts reported human rights violations and abuse by relatives who exploit legal loopholes to gain control over vulnerable persons’ property. Immediate institutional changes respecting Cyprus’s international commitments are required, participants stressed.
The discussion focused on protecting rights of those subject to involuntary psychiatric treatment and individuals whose property and affairs are placed under court-appointed administrators.
Legal experts report abuse of involuntary psychiatric commitment procedures
University of Nicosia law professor Achilles Emilianides said that relatives frequently pursue involuntary hospitalisation applications to gain an advantage in property disputes.
Supreme Court decisions prove the system is vulnerable to abuse, with inadequate psychiatric examination and absence of substantive hearings for affected persons, he argued.
“Our institutional system is flawed,” Emilianides said, requesting the adoption of European practices based on personal autonomy principles. He cited “living wills” used in the United States and Germany, allowing individuals to designate decision-makers before becoming incapacitated.
“The institutional framework requires significant revisions. It is extremely important that you have opened this issue, because it is an issue that has gone for many years without anyone touching it and is one of the major problems we face today in the field of human rights,” Emilianides told committee members.
MPs call for immediate institutional reforms to protect vulnerable persons
Emilianides referenced a 2014 decision by Judge Stella Christodoulidou Messiou, who determined Cyprus falls short of European standards with vague procedures, inadequate criteria and insufficient judicial oversight.
“Despite this decision, ten years later, no substantial reform has occurred. We remain at the same point,” he stated.
Committee chairwoman Irene Charalambidou declared that Cyprus has received recommendations from international organisations since 2017, but fails to implement them. She expressed frustration over the lack of coordination between government departments, alleging parallel legislative procedures without communication.
She criticised bureaucratic delays, miscommunication between government services and burden-shifting to police. “In a modern European state, police cannot undertake duties of nurses and psychiatrists,” she stated.
DISY MP Rita Superman identified serious deficiencies including absence of unified cooperation protocols between the Health Ministry and Social Welfare Services, understaffing of psychiatrists and social workers, lack of psychiatric support during police transport, and exclusion of Athalassa Hospital from the General Health System.
According to her data, 1,914 involuntary hospitalisation cases occurred between 1 January 2021 and 30 August 2022, including 130 involving minors.
Independent MP Alexandra Attalides referenced rejected legislative proposals aimed at granting individuals choice of administrator. She expressed disappointment over parallel, uncoordinated bill processing by different state departments.
Charalambidou committed that the committee would initiate legislative procedures immediately without awaiting ministerial action.
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