Cyprus government announces measures to improve prisoner care and forensic services

On September 25, 2026, the Cypriot Ministers of Justice and Health, Kostas Fytiris and Neophytos Charalambides, held an interministerial meeting with Legislation Commissioner Sofia Cleopa Hadjikyriakou to address critical operational failures within the justice and health systems. The meeting followed reports of systemic delays in medical examinations for prisoners, complications in managing psychiatric patients, and limited capacity in the Forensic Medicine Service, which has relied solely on the Nicosia morgue.

Key decisions include creating designated parking spaces for police vehicles at Accident and Emergency departments, mandating priority medical examinations for prisoners, and constructing secure, dedicated holding areas within hospitals to reduce the time police officers spend supervising inmates. Additionally, the government plans to modernize the psychiatric hospitalization legislation, strengthen the Forensic Medicine Service through increased staffing and private sector service procurement, and initiate the gradual reopening of provincial morgues, prioritizing Limassol followed by Larnaca and Paphos.

These interventions aim to resolve chronic inefficiencies that have previously led to delays in forensic investigations and the improper holding of psychiatric patients in patrol vehicles. Officials will now focus on updating the protocols for the Forensic Medicine Service and aligning them with police procedural requirements to ensure better coordination and standardized handling of future cases.