Parties debate prison study bill even amid hunger strike
With imprisoned bank robber Nikos Romanos set to enter the 26th day of a hunger strike in protest at not being granted study furloughs, Justice Minister Haralambos Athanasiou was to meet party officials on Friday ahead of the scheduled submission to Parliament next Tuesday of a bill allowing inmates to study from prison.
Romanos, who fainted in hospital on Thursday, has rejected the minister’s overture and his lawyer on Thursday appealed against a court decision rejecting the 21-year-old’s appeal for study leave.
Protesters held a solidarity sit-in for Romanos at the headquarters of the private workers’ union, GSEE, on Thursday night.
