Fitiris admits new prison plan was made with AI

Justice Minister Costas Fitiris has admitted that the rendering of a proposed new central prison, shown to the House finance committee on Monday, was produced with artificial intelligence and “is not a master plan”. Speaking to television channel Alpha on Tuesday, Fitiris said the images were “AI” and only a “depiction of what the complex could include”. He said final decisions would follow environmental and urban planning studies. The justice ministry had earlier described the rendering as “an indicative illustration” that does not prejudge the final form or layout of the project. The plan sets out a prison at Ayios Sozomenos with room for at least 1,500 inmates, with the AI model showing four detention wings on either side of a central line of facilities. It also featured a medical unit, a football pitch, a Christian chapel and a Muslim prayer room adorned with a minaret. Fitiris pledged to present concrete plans first to the affected municipalities so they could give their views, suggestions and objections, saying the aim was to find “the golden mean” for all parties. He estimated construction would take four to five years, with works due to begin by the end of next year, at a cost of €300 million. Ayios Sozomenos, an abandoned Turkish Cypriot village near the buffer zone, became the likely site after the ministry dropped Mathiatis in September following strong resistance from residents. Fitiris has said Mathiatis was set aside due to its “very high financial cost” and lack of infrastructure. The municipalities of South Nicosia-Idalion and Latsia-Yeri objected at a meeting with ministry officials on October 6, arguing the land is used for farming and was earlier designated for livestock.