NICOSIA Central Prison director Panicos Kyriacou yesterday called for an emergency psychological evaluation report on one of his inmates.
Thirty-two-year-old Christos Hadjimarkou from Nicosia is mildly mentally retarded and has physical disabilities. Until his arrest, he spent his time helping out at his local church and up until two years ago he was under the care of a government psychologist.
However, since September 1 he has been incarcerated, and is being held until November 21, when he will stand trial on 15 counts of arson.
Following reports of Hadjimarkou’s condition, Kyriacou yesterday met with the inmate’s prison appointed psychologist and requested she write up an evaluation report as soon as possible. He said he expected it to be ready within a day or two at most.
“I asked for a full report to give me a clear picture of this man’s situation. If the report confirms he is mentally retarded, I will then go the Attorney-general’s office and the Health Ministry to see how this matter is handled,” said Kyriakou.
His foster parents, Kyriacos and Eva Stylianou, who have raised him from infancy, insist he is innocent and that people have always taken advantage of him because he is “simple”.
In 1996, police questioned Christos in connection with several arson cases. He was released hours later. In 2000 he was rearrested and jailed for three months.
His parents allege Christos had been beaten into signing a confession. “He didn’t know what he was signing because he didn’t understand what they were asking him to admit to. He’d then have nightmares for weeks and wake up shouting that he didn’t do it.”
All charges were dropped after the intervention of former Attorney-general Alecos Markides, said his parents.
“He could see he had a problem and so said the charges should be dropped,” they said.
Markides was yesterday unable to remember details of the case. However, he said that if he was convicted, the prison was not equipped to deal with mentally retarded inmates. He added that, although psychologically disturbed convicts were sent to the psychiatric hospital, for a period of time, it was not the appropriate place for Christos’ case either. In short, there’s nowhere for him to go.
In March 2002, Christos admitted to one count of arson and was given two years’ probation. “He was told if he admitted to one count of arson they’d get rid of the other charges. He was then told not to set fire to anything for two years or he would be tried on all past arson charges,” said Eva.
Then in August this year Christos was arrested for the third time. His parents believe police have pinned someone else’s crime on their son. “He wouldn’t hurt a fly and knows right from wrong. I know he couldn’t have done it. He spends all time up at the church,” said his foster father Kyriacos.
He added he was considering taking the police, the judges and the state to the European Court of Human Rights for the way Christos had been treated.
“His bottom row of teeth have fallen out, he’s put on weight and he’s stopped talking,” said his mother. “He doesn’t even wash or change his clothes unless I do it for him,” she added.
Whatever the outcome of the trial, prison sources say Christos has no place in prison.
“It’s obvious he doesn’t belong here and should be sent somewhere else. This is not the place to help reform this man. You can tell just by talking to him that he’s immature and behaves like a child in primary school. He’s confused, cries all the time, and the other 50 inmates who are in the same block as him pick on him. This is how prison is and that’s how the other men behave,” a source told the Cyprus Mail.
Police and both his former and prison psychologist refused to comment on the case. No one was yesterday able to say what would happen to Christos, or where he would serve his time, if convicted.
