While talking about the inadequacy of the Central Prison and the increasing number of prisoners, it was calculated that the daily nutritional requirement of a prisoner is 736 TL, and the monthly nutritional requirement is 22 thousand TL. The salary of the minimum wage earner, who is involved in social life, who spends on food, house rent and electricity, is 15 thousand 750 TL.
Güven Bengihan, President of the Cyprus Turkish Public Officials Union (KTAMS), Canan Onurer’s Cyprus Post TVHe was connected to the program called ‘Morning News’, which he prepared and presented in .
Speaking about the lack of guards and the occupancy rate in the prison due to the fact that KTAMS is an authorized union in the Central Prison, Bengihan said that the prison for 100 people was built as an open prison for 725 people; but he noted that the legislation for the open prison has not been completed.
Bengihan stated that there are nearly 750 convicts and detentions in the 625-person prison, while 100-120 refugees are held in the old prison.
Bengihan said, “The current prison is not enough to reintegrate people who have been sentenced to 25-30 years into society. No one was employed to train the prisoners to reintegrate them into society. Nursing, doctors, social workers, kitchen needs are handled by the guards. The guards will be the foremen for the prisoners who will work in the workshops.”
Bengihan noted that 14 people remained due to the increasing number of criminals in departments with 10 people, and said, “The current prison is not sufficient as a building. Staff are also going to the inmates who are constantly undergoing surgery and are sick in hospitals… As someone who has worked in a prison for 20 years and knows the conditions, I can answer questions. Today, prisoners of TRNC nationality are in the minority. There are 3rd nationals at most in the prison. Unfortunately, there is a big problem in prison. Since most of these people in current environments are people who use drugs and chemicals, they are attacked from time to time. There are also those who attack their friends in their wards.” said.
Underlining that a prisoner’s morning, lunch and dinner costs are 736 TL in total, Bengihan said that 22 thousand TL was given to the prisoners for a 30-day diet. President Bengihan added that prisoners and detainees should also live humanely.
Pointing out that the minimum wage is 15 thousand 750 TL, Bengihan announced that they will make a press statement in front of the Prime Ministry at 10:00 tomorrow about the minimum wage being below the hunger limit and the fact that a prisoner only needs to eat 22 thousand TL per month.
