Prisoner found dead in central prison

A 23-year-old Syrian national, identified as Abdul Kader Almfalani, currently serving a sentence at Nicosia central prison, has died, police confirmed on Saturday.

He was reportedly due to be released within a few days.

Officers were informed at around 2.15am by the prison authorities that Almfalani had been found in his cell without any signs of life.

He was taken by ambulance to Nicosia general hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Nicosia CID officers attended the scene, carried out examinations and collected evidence for scientific analysis.

Justice Minister Constantinos Fitiris also visited the prison and received a briefing on the incident.

The exact cause of Almfalani’s death will be determined by a post-mortem scheduled for 3.30pm on Saturday. It will be conducted by doctors Markella Papetta and Orthodoxos Orthodoxou.

The death comes days after another inmate was killed.

On Sunday, a 35-year-old Egyptian national died following a violent altercation with another inmate.

Police arrested a 30-year-old prisoner on suspicion of premeditated murder, and he was remanded in custody for eight days by the Nicosia district court.

Investigators said the incident involved a brief confrontation that escalated into a fight inside a prison cell.

The victim later collapsed and died in hospital.