Central Jail of Nicosia

The Central Jail of Nicosia is the only prison in Cyprus and is run by the Cyprus Prisons Department. It is located west of the walled part of Nicosia, south of the Green Line. Convicted prisoners and defendants held on remand of both sexes and of all age groups from 16 years and over are held in the facility. With rare exceptions, all prisoners in Cyprus are held there. Some small off-site facilities of the Cyprus Prisons Department have been declared as prisons, for use when there is a need to keep a prisoner separate from the general population.

The Nicosia Central Prison was built by the British in 1894 and was in use until 1955 as a place of detention of those condemned by the courts to imprisonment, but also as a place of temporary detention of persons under judicial decree. During the Turkish invasion of Cyprus battles raged around the Central Jail of Lefkosia.