The Plenary Session of the Parliament voted in favor of a bill that allows the extension of the period for which children are allowed to be detained in a special detention facility within the Prison Department, instead of in a child detention facility, until the opening of this facility, from January 1, 2026, which is currently in force, to December 31, 2026.
The specially designed space within the Prison Department has been used since 2021.
The approval was accompanied by criticism as it is not the first time that an extension has been given. The Member of Parliament for Ecologists-Citizens' Cooperation, Charalambos Theopemptou, said that his party will abstain because essentially today the Government is asking for an extension because it failed to create the specially designed space for these children.
Andreas Pasiourtidis, AKEL MP, reminded that extensions were given in the past with the Government saying that it will create the center in Limnes and in Menogia a juvenile detention area will be formed. He declared that his party would be voting against the proposal and that the proposal brought by in 2021 and for which there were granted extension should have been implemented. He added that during a visit to the Prisons they found that these children come into contact with adult prisoners.
Independent MP Alexandra Attalidou said that she was also voting against it and reminded that the former Commissioner for the Protection of Children's Rights had stressed that it is unacceptable for these children to be in a place with adults and that international conventions, guidelines and international standards provide exclusively child-centered approaches to dealing with the issue.
Regarding the timetable for the construction of the children's detention area, which must be suitable for children's detention, a representative of the Ministry of Justice had informed the legal committee that its construction is expected to be completed by the end of next year, as the space has been decided and the relevant construction plans have already been completed.