Multi-level developments are expected around the Central Prison in relation to last week’s events, as the new Justice Minister works on immediate solutions to ease the situation and police continue investigations into two inmate deaths.
Regarding the case of the 35-year-old Egyptian who collapsed minutes after receiving a punch below the eye from another inmate, police have handed the case file to the Law Office with a recommendation to file it in court today with a murder charge, according to Phileleftheros sources.
However, the file will remain open until toxicology and other test results become available to determine the exact cause of death of the prisoner.
According to the same sources, the results may be ready even today, as they were sent to a laboratory in Greece for quick processing. The case is open, and developments are expected even today.
The autopsy conducted last week on his body by two forensic pathologists showed neither internal bleeding nor cardiac arrest, which is why other possibilities are being examined.
As reported to Phileleftheros, the findings as well as the punch received by the prisoner were not capable of causing his death.
As previously mentioned, the charges against the 30-year-old will be shaped according to the toxicology results. He is being held under an eight-day remand as a suspect in relation to a premeditated murder investigation.
As reported to the court, the inmate had entered the Egyptian’s cell in Wing 4 of the prison and asked his cellmate to leave. An argument ensued between them, and the 30-year-old from Paphos gave one punch to the Egyptian’s face.
Prison staff immediately intervened and separated them, whilst the Egyptian insisted on finding the 30-year-old to ask him why. Whilst he was in the guards’ office, he suddenly collapsed. Everything was recorded on CCTV in the chamber.
Syrian inmate case
Regarding the case of the 23-year-old Syrian who was found dead in his cell in the new wing of the prison, the autopsy showed no form of abuse.
Sources report that the young inmate had never expressed his intentions to any relative or to the prison, whilst recent complaints existed about him from prisoners’ rights association president Alexandros Clerides regarding abuse.
All of this is being examined by Nicosia CID, which continues its investigations, and in this case, too, samples were taken for toxicology tests to determine if there was a foreign substance in his body.
The latest death in the prison, attributed to suicide, disturbed both the Minister and the President of the Republic, who held a meeting to discuss the situation and take measures for immediate relief until other relief measures are set in motion, which will take time to implement.
Prison official files complaint
In another development, a prison official who recently became the target of messages of a romantic nature allegedly exchanged with another person went to the Electronic Crime Subdivision at Police Headquarters last Friday and filed a complaint, stating that these are false.
The messages were published on social media and were sent from abroad via phones from various countries. Police undertook to investigate the matter; however, it is difficult to trace both the senders and the accounts from which they were published.