AUTHORITIES have ordered two investigations into the alleged rape of a young prisoner, it emerged yesterday, as deputy prison governor Giorgos Tryfonides claimed there was a conspiracy afoot for his removal.
Justice Minister Loucas Louca has ordered the immediate launch of a criminal investigation by the police, while a state attorney Antonis Vasiliades has been tasked with looking into possible disciplinary offences.
“It is a very serious matter, which also needs very serious handling and investigation,” Louca said.
The minister added that he has asked the chief of police for an “immediate and swift” investigation into the matter.
The alleged rape reportedly happened in December when against normal procedure the young convict supposedly shared a cell with an older prisoner, raising questions as to how and why prison guards let the two spend the night in the same cell.
The deputy prison governor has said all along that there was no such case.
“The individual gave a statement in which he denies everything and appeared upset that what is happening is harmful for him,” Tryfonides said. “I don’t know what he told the Ombudswoman.”
Ombudswoman Eliza Savvidou has investigated the matter and is currently drafting her report.
Her interim report on the alleged incident prompted Attorney-general Petros Clerides to ask for the investigation, which could bring suspensions among prison staff.
“Considering the Ombudswoman’s interim report and the information we have collected, we will most likely proceed with suspensions,” Loucas said, offering no other details.
Prison guards entered the fray yesterday, saying neither they nor the facility’s administration have “any complaint or report in order to investigate the case.”
Publication of the Ombudswoman’s rape investigation came immediately after she issued a damning report on prison conditions, which angered Tryfonides.
The findings of the report were also rejected by prison wardens.
The deputy governor accused Savvidou of not taking the administration’s views into consideration while drafting the report; Savvidou said she did, but she was not obliged to adopt them.
Yesterday, Tryfonides suggested there was a conspiracy, which included prison staff, aiming at his removal.
“I believe some members of staff in cooperation with some prisoners are trying to achieve what they haven’t (accomplished) to date,” Tryfonides said. “Giorgos Tryfonides must abandon the prisons.”
He said this was not because they lost privileges but because regulations, which had been ignored before, are now being enforced.
“We will not bow to pressure,” he said.
Savvidou’s report, dated September 6, 2011, said worsening chronic problems – like overcrowding — plaguing the correctional facility and the hardening of the prison department’s stance regarding prisoner treatment, raise particular concern about the possibility of tension inside in the prison that could endanger the safety of prisoners and the personnel.
It also spoke of food deprivation, poor ventilation and lack of sleep in the isolation wing.
The report also suggested bells in isolation cells were de-activated at night, forcing prisoners to relieve themselves in plastic bags and bottles.
Wardens yesterday voiced their strong disagreement with the report’s “unsubstantiated conclusions.”
They denied its contents and said they were surprised by the timing of its publication and the rape claim and “concerned by the expediency that such an action may serve.”
