– H/t reader M.G.:
“Adding to this mess, here is a story from Cyprus. They are jailing people for debt. Didn’t the 19th century teach these clowns anything? How can people pay if they are in jail?
Here is the link. Insane.”
You can’t make this stuff up!
– Rise in debtors adds to prison overcrowding (Cyprus Mail, July 23, 2013):
THE ALREADY over-full Nicosia Central Prisons is becoming even more crowded as the financial crisis worsens and more people are being jailed for non-payment of fines and other debts.
Prison Governor Giorgos Tryfonides told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) that efforts were being made to help such convicts pay off their debts in instalments.
“We are trying our best to make plans for payment of debt so an arrangement can be made with the attorney-general to postpone any punishment as long as the instalment is accepted by the plaintiff,” he said.
Due to the crisis, the number of people facing jail for financial reasons is on the rise compared to other years, Tryfonides said, adding on certain days up to five people might be imprisoned for similar offences.