Prison guard suspended

A prison guard was suspended from his duties on Friday after being arrested for allegedly trying to influence a convicted man not to testify in a drugs case.

Reports say the 34-year-old is being investigated in connection with offences including the influencing of a witness in order to give false testimony or concealing true testimony, obstructing judges and interfering with justice, deceit and abuse of trust by a public official.

The guard was taken to CID headquarters for questioning, where he denied committing the offences.

Police sources point to the convict having reported the guard to the prison authorities, who immediately suspended the guard from his duties.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.