Imprisoned Graves

D uring the 1955-59 struggle for the liberation of Cyprus from the British yoke the colonial rulers constructed in the Nicosia Central Prisons a small cemetery which has gone down in history as the “Imprisoned Graves”. It is a narrow place, next to the cells where those condemned to death were held and the gallows, surrounded by high walls with pieces of glass on top. When John Harding was governor of Cyprus it was decided to bury here those hanged and also leading figures of the National Organization of Cypriot Fighters (EOKA) killed in fighting so that their funerals might not provide an opportunity for mass rallies and militant demonstrations. Buried in the Imprisoned Graves are thirteen heroes-martyrs, nine of whom were executed by hanging in the Nicosia Central Prisons, three fell in the battlefield and one died in a military hospital after being injured in fighting. Their only crime was their love for freedom. The heroes who died on the gallows did not break despite the horrible and inhuman physical and mental tortures to which they were subjected from the time of their arrest until the time of their execution; they endured their terrible ordeal with a high morale and unshakeable faith. And when the critical moment came they walked to the gallows upright and proud, chanting religious songs and the national anthem while fellow-fighters detained in the same prison gave them courage with patriotic slogans and songs. The funeral took place immediately after hanging. Present was only the prisons priest, who performed the funeral service outside the closed entrance to the cemetery. The British buried them without any Greek Cypriot, either mother or father, being present. Parents visited the graves of their children after the end of the struggle. The nine hanged fighters, all young men, aged 19-24 are listed according to the order in which they were executed: Michalakis Karaolis Andreas Demetriou They were hanged together on 10.5.1956 }