Central Prison Director Fatih Erdoğan announced that there are 797 detainees in total in the prison.
Nicosia heavy penal court opened the judicial year 2022-2023. President Fadıl Aksun, Senior Judge Vedia Berkut Barkın and Judge Murat Soytaç in the opening session before the heavy penalty committee, Prosecutor Ergin Aıcı, Attila Enver Etkin and İbrahim Ruso, Nicosia Police Director Ahmet Beşerler, Central Prison Director Fatih Erdoğan and Probation Board member.
Police Inspector Mustafa Hidayet informed the court.
Central Prison Director Fatih Erdoğan stated that there are 797 detainees in total in the prison.
Noting that the prison is currently divided into two as the new and the old building, Erdoğan noted that there are 153 male and 23 female prisoners in the new prison.
Pointing out that the current number of convicts is 213, Erdoğan stated that 8 of them are young men, 42 of them are foreign nationals and 9 of them are women.
Noting that the number of convicts with light sentences was 301, Erdoğan said that 283 of them were men and 18 of them were women.
Expressing that there are 455 male and 41 female prisoners as null and void prisoners, Erdoğan stated that the number of foreign nationals is 290.
Erdoğan stated that 166 male and 11 female prisoners are TRNC nationals, while 172 male and 12 female prisoners are Turkish citizens.
Stating that there are 332 male and 34 female prisoners of foreign nationality, Erdoğan stated that there are 738 male and 59 female prisoners in total.
“Our biggest problem is our detainees and convicts, 141 of whom are irregular migrants. These are a huge burden for the prison. The daily expenses of each of us in today’s environment is 254 TL for the prison. In addition, these people have heavy ticket money. These are huge burdens on our state. We would be very pleased if a study was carried out on this issue.”
Nicosia Police Director Ahmet Beşerler stated that 951 criminal files were drawn up between 1 January 2022 and 16 September 2022 within the scope of the Nicosia Police Department’s responsibility, and noted that 540 of these files were referred to the court and 411 of them are under investigation.
Beşerler continued:
“Compared to the same period of the previous year, 788 crimes were committed in our region in the same period of last year. This shows that there has been a 20.6 percent increase in crimes this year compared to last year. It is observed that there is an increase in crimes such as ‘Violation of the Military Forbidden Zone’, ‘Violation of the Money and Foreign Exchange Law’, ‘Violation of Court Order’, ‘Saving and Carrying Drugs’, ‘Opening a Building and Circast’.
Again, 575 misdemeanor cases occurred in our region between the same dates. Investigations into these issues are still ongoing.
The investigation of 411 issues was completed and referred to the court. The investigation of 164 issues is still ongoing.
When we made a comparison with the same period of the previous year in misdemeanor issues, we had 596 issues last year. Compared to last year, there was a 3.5 percent decrease in misdemeanors.
This is a pleasing aspect for misdemeanors according to crimes. As of today, there are 172 invalid detainees in the Central Prison regarding the investigations carried out by our directorate.
The vast majority of these 172 invalidated detainees are drugs with 43 issues, and drugs with 43 individuals come first. Afterwards, the detainees who were not sentenced for the crimes of opening houses and buildings are inside.
I told you about the circadian issue, drugs, and the persons involved in sexual crimes are in prison without a warrant. As for the detainees in the police stations of our directorate, there are 7 detainees in the Nicosia Police Department Police Stations as of today.
One of these detainees is under arrest for the crime of ‘attempted murder’. One of them is under arrest for ‘Having a Serious Injury Traffic Accident’. We have one prisoner for the crime of ‘Drugs’, one for the crime of ‘Grave Damage’, one for the crime of ‘Saving of Duty-Free Property’ and two for the crime of ‘Sirkat’.”
Güzelyurt Police Director Barış Sel gave information about the events within the responsibility area of Güzelyurt Police Department.
Barış Sel stated that there are 156 criminal files in the area of responsibility of the Güzelyurt Police Department, 96 of them were referred to the court between January 1, 2022 and September 15, 2022, and 60 of them are currently under investigation.
Sel continued:
“During the same period, 199 files were investigated as misdemeanor files. 152 of them were referred to the Court. 47 of them are currently under investigation. The reason for their waiting is the same as the previous ones, there is no delay in these files.
When we look at the traffic file again, 1318 traffic files have been prepared. 1250 of them were referred to the Court. 68 of them are currently under investigation. There is no delay in them either.
When we look at the number of registered signs, we have 92 registered signs as of 2022. When we look at the number of detainees, 213 people were arrested for various crimes between January 1 and September 15, 2022. There are currently 2 detainees in our cells. The reason for their detention is also due to expulsion.
Again, in our area of responsibility, there are 10 null detainees in the period covering the same dates. 10 files have been drawn up regarding the null and void detainees.
The details of the issues are as follows. As a heavy penalty issue, the number of issues under the responsibility of a lower court was 5, the number of issues under the responsibility of the military court was 3, that is, a total of 9 files were drawn up. Since a file has 2 defendants, such an arrangement has been made. There is no delay in these files either.”
Prosecutor Ergin Aıcı stated that they closed the previous judicial year of the Nicosia heavy penal court here on August 8, and stated that 26 new files were transferred to heavy penalties in this process.
Aıcı continued:
“We start the new year with 130 files. Honorable witnesses have just conveyed information and numbers to your honorable court. Sometimes the numbers can be a small detail, but in fact, it is a picture of how difficult a process this road is from one perspective.
Here again we are embarking on a new and difficult road. In this difficult road, we, as the Prosecution Office, will be here to provide you with the maximum benefit and benefit so that your venerable court can weave the way with the web of justice.
On behalf of my esteemed colleagues and as the Prosecution Office, I wish that all stakeholders who will affect the judiciary have a smooth and beneficial judicial year, in which all stakeholders will affect the functioning of the judiciary at the highest level.”
President Fadıl Aksun stated that they held the closing ceremony 39 days ago and underlined that the problems they stated at the closing were not problems that could be resolved within this short period of time.
Aksun continued:
“With regard to the 2 police chiefs and the Director of the Central Prison who are in our presence at the moment, we must say the following: the expectation of our court regarding the crimes under investigation, especially in relation to the persons detained in police stations and police directorates, is to pass these periods by complying with the human rights and judge’s rules in the best way possible.”
Expressing that they are aware of the problems in the Central Prison, Aksun said, “It is essential to be detained or sentenced worthy of human life and human dignity.
There is a reality that we deliver the accused to prison after convicting them. However, we give these punishments with the expectation that they will somehow return to society as a result of these periods, healed and rehabilitated.
Therefore, in a way, these defendants are like our entrusted to the prison. This trust of ours must be observed in the best way and the rehabilitation conditions must be provided at a high level. In this respect, we would like to point this out to our Prison Director.”
Aksun stated that they are aware that a very serious number of crimes have been committed and continued as follows:
“Neither the court, the prosecutor’s office, nor the police are in a one-to-one preventive position in terms of preventing a crime. There are many stakeholders. We do not need to repeat who these stakeholders are at the moment, in order not to waste time. We said it in closing.
All stakeholders need to fight this struggle at the same time. Of course, if there is no struggle and a crime is committed, our court will try to do its job in the best way.
After considering the numbers before us in the most urgent way, we conclude that there is enough data and the number of cases to open the next session of the heavy penalty, and we will open the new season with the best of luck.”