CYPRUS | Ombudsman publishes Guide of Prisoner’s First Contact

The Commissioner for Administration and the Protection of Human Rights (Ombudsman) published a Guide of Prisoner’s First Contact in English and in Greek. This publication was prepared by the Ombudsman in cooperation with lawyers of the Association of the Protection of the Rights of Prisoners & Ex-Prisoners and it takes in consideration the articles of the existing legislation and the rules and regulations in force. It also draws from the real experiences of persons who remained in custody, either as detainees pending trial or convicts in the Central Prisons of the Republic of Cyprus. For the publication of this guide, the Office of the Ombudsman also requested and received the views of the Department of Prisons.

The aim of the Guide is to inform new detainees and/or prisoners about their rights, obligations, and rules of safe cohabitation within the prison. The guide aims to answer, in a plain and simple language, some initial simple questions about prisoner's rights.

The Guide was published in Greek and English; translations into languages understood by foreign prison inmates will follow and be issued as well.

Source: Office of the Commissioner for Administration and the Protection of Human Rights (Ombudsman), Cyprus