Escapes from Cypriot detention centers have become a routine occurrence. The escape of an 18-year-old from a police van at the Larnaca District Court was the 25th such incident in the last five years. This followed the escape last week of a 19-year-old Syrian from police custody in Lakatamia.
On June 12, 2026, a 17-year-old escaped from the Omorfita Police Station, while on January 7, 2025, the escape of a 39-year-old defendant from Romania, who was being guarded by police officers at Nicosia General Hospital, also caused a stir.
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On December 22, 2024, a commotion was caused by the escape of a Swedish fugitive from a private hospital in Larnaca, involving a police officer and the defendant.
In February of the same year, a 17-year-old Somali boy escaped from the Kokkinotrimithia police station. The minor had squeezed through the eye of a needle—specifically, through the window of his cell, which measured just 30 by 17 centimeters.
“Doesn’t the window lock?” “No
, Mrs. Agapitou—when you lift it up, can’t you see the latch? There’s no latch on top; there should be one. Mrs. Agapitou, aren’t you surprised?””Nikos Loizidis
In January 2022, a 30-year-old Greek Cypriot escaped from the Omorfita police station shortly after the shift change. He then stole a white van from a nearby business and fled.
The 30-year-old managed to escape right under the police officers’ noses shortly after the shift change, after first removing the bars from the bathroom window of his cell.
In July of the same year, an unprecedented escape was recorded involving a 32-year-old man from Pakistan who escaped from a moving patrol car in Agios Dometios.
The 32-year-old detainee took the two members of the Special Anti-Narcotics Unit by surprise, kicked the female officer who was driving, opened the passenger door, and began running through the streets while still handcuffed.
This comes less than a month after the escape of a 28-year-old Greek Cypriot defendant from the Lakatamia police holding cells.
After managing to remove glass bricks from the wall of his cell, the 28-year-old made his way to the back of the building, where, after climbing onto a truck, he jumped out and scaled the barbed-wire fence without being noticed.
As in previous cases, the Chief requested a report on what went wrong with the security measures. However, as history has shown, the gaps and loopholes that are identified are not closed, resulting in the mistakes being repeated.
Watch the report by Christoforos Nestoros:
