A 35-year-old man was killed in the central prison on Sunday, with the police on Monday arresting another inmate on suspicion of premeditated murder.

The police on Monday confirmed that a 30-year-old inmate has been arrested. He later appeared before Nicosia district court, which remanded him in police custody for eight days.

An autopsy is to be performed on the victim’s body to clarify the cause of the 35-year-old’s death.

The victim was a 35-year-old Egyptian national who was killed following an “incident” with a fellow inmate, believed to be his cell mate.

The incident occurred late on Sunday afternoon, and that an inmate entered the 35-year-old Egyptian’s cell and left it in 10 seconds.

An argument between the two turned into a fight with the victim reportedly being sprayed by his attacker.

After eight or ten minutes had passed, [the victim] felt unwell and collapsed.

The victim was taken to a private hospital in Engomi, where despite doctors’ efforts to revive him, this was not possible.

The incident between the two men was described as a “fierce fight”.

Police investigator Yennadios Ioannou told the court that the suspect admitted to arguing with the victim and punching him.

CCTV footage taken inside the prison will be examined.

Wing 4 of the prison, where the incident took place, currently houses 14 inmates.

Later on Monday, Akel laid the blame for the murder squarely at the feet of the government and of outgoing justice minister Marios Hartsiotis, who formally left office on Monday to take up his new role as “commissioner of the presidency”.

“Hartsiotis may have been rewarded with a continued stay in the government, but the explosive situation in the central prison continues to be the government’s responsibility. The latest murder committed in the prison adds to the undisturbed activity of the underworld within the penitentiary institution,” it said.

It added that it has been “warning for years about the situation in the prison”, while “the current and former rulers were congratulating themselves and praising departments and ministers for imaginary successes.

“Addressing the situation in the central prison must become a top priority in the field of public order and the fight against organised crime in our country, and this is the government’s responsibility,” it said.