Justice Minister Costas Fytiris said on Monday that legislation permitting the interception of phone conversations will be resubmitted to the House of Representatives. Presenting his ministry's budget to the House finance committee, he described the issue as a priority, saying that without surveillance the authorities remain "one step behind".
Fytiris did not clarify whether the bill would be amended or return in its original form. He cited Greece, attributing its success against organised crime to its surveillance powers. The police chief told the committee the drugs problem was "terrifying" and said police were cooperating with foreign agencies to tackle it.
The proposal has stalled before. Parliament passed a phone-tapping law in 2020, but it was never implemented because telecoms providers lacked the technical capacity and officials had concerns over the warrant process. The cabinet approved a revised bill on February 13, which President Nikos Christodoulides called "a necessary and proportionate" tool against serious crime. The government also sought an amendment to Article 17 of the constitution, which protects the secrecy of communications and would require 38 votes in the House.
The bill restricts monitoring to cases covered by a court warrant for a set period, and applies to offences including premeditated murder, corruption, terrorism, espionage, human trafficking, drug trafficking and money laundering. Providers Cyta, Cablenet, Epic and Primetel have since installed the necessary infrastructure. Attorney-general George Savvides called surveillance "a superweapon" for the state, while the proposals provided for up to ten years in prison for unlawful surveillance and a three-member supervisory committee. Akel MP Andreas Pasiourtides questioned the need for wider powers, noting the 2020 mechanism was never used, and civil liberties groups warned of risks to privacy. On April 2, Akel MP Aristos Damianou said the constitutional amendment would not go to a plenary vote under the outgoing parliament.
Fytiris also said security authorities had information that migrant flows from African countries were expected in the coming period and that measures were being taken to detect and stop them. The ministry is considering recruiting police officers on a model similar to the National Guard's contract soldiers (SYOP) to cut costs and ease hiring, noting that officers are currently assigned to morgues, serving summonses and other non-police duties.
On prisons, a new director will take over on Monday, November 2, and recruitment has been opened to Europeans due to staff shortages. Anti-drone and mobile phone detection systems are complete, a phone signal-blocking system is in progress and a unified CCTV system is due in November 2026. Reforms include a new prisons law and electronic monitoring for remand prisoners. A facility for convicted minors, originally planned for Menogeia, will be housed in prefabricated units next to the Central Prisons and is expected to be ready in October 2027; Pasiourtides strongly criticised the delay, noting the law was passed six years ago. The design of new courts in Nicosia will be announced in 2027. Deputy Police Chief Panikos Stavrou said an investigation into the suspected illegal operation of plasmapheresis machines at a medical centre in Larnaca was at an advanced stage.
