Criticism and unknowns emerge in latest prison death

Cyprus Police have not ruled out foul play in the death of a British inmate, who was found hanged last Friday, while reports suggested the case was filled with conflicting information including a suggestion that no effort had been made to resuscitate.

Local media said a 60-year-old British man who was reportedly incarcerated in Nicosia Central Prisons on pre-trial detention was found hanged in the shower of a Ward 1B on Friday afternoon.

Prison officials issued a statement saying the body was discovered at 1:40pm, with local media also reporting the ward in question was known to house sex offenders.

But conflicting information soon emerged in the case.

Philenews reported it was still unclear to investigators whether the body had been left in place since the morning, when the inmate was last seen at 10am.

“There is criticism over the fact that when he was found he was not immediately moved to check if he was still alive,” the daily reported, adding no resuscitation attempts had been made.

Reports also said state forensic examiners Angeliki Papetta and Orthodoxos Orthodoxou were called to the scene, with investigators pointing to preliminary reports that suggested the death was as a suicide.

But Police Spokesperson Christos Andreou told local media on Saturday that it was still too early in the investigation to determine manner of death, adding the possibility of a criminal act could not be ruled out at this stage.

It was also still unclear whether the inmate was being held on pre-trial detention or he was recently convicted and was awaiting his sentence.

According to SigmaLive, the British inmate had just been found guilty in the rape of a minor, described as his 11-year-old grandson.

A Friday statement from the Prison department said all protocols had been followed regarding the nature of such incidents, while officials also expressed condolences to the dead inmate’s loved ones.

The incident took place at a time during power play in prison and just months after another death of a pre-trial detainee, while a cruel torture-to-death case has also shocked the system where prison officials are among suspects facing charges.

The exact cause of Friday's death is expected to be revealed following a post mortem, which has yet to be scheduled.