Prison Insider, the information platform on prisons in the world

Headlines News

June 12, 2026

Ethiopia : sleeping in turns

Kumsa Gutteta spent more than twelve years behind bars in Ethiopia. Today, Director of the Centre for Justice, he describes a prison system marked by extreme overcrowding, years of armed conflict and the absence of alternatives to imprisonment.

May 12, 2026

Scotland: “A state of permanent hyperawareness”

John has been incarcerated for nearly twenty years since the age of 16. Now a husband, a father, and a PhD researcher, he shares his story with us — from his time behind bars to how prison still impacts him today. Interview.

March 17, 2026

Chin up! Let’s escape!

Prison Insider, represented by Clara Grisot, contributed twelve compositions to the book InsideOutside to articulate, in a few words, the current challenges of prison life. Twelfth piece: prison break.

March 4, 2026

Mexico: Cefereso No.16, the "cemetery of the living"

Designed as a maximum security facility, Cefereso No. 16 is Mexico’s only federal women’s prison, and concern over its living conditions is rising. Interview with Algaraza.

January 27, 2026

Gabon: existing and surviving in prison

Gabon has a particularly high rate of incarceration: 226 people are imprisoned per 100,000 inhabitants. Overcrowding is a flagrant issue, and the living conditions are considered extremely concerning. SOS Prisonniers Gabon provides an overview.

Testimonials

Prison narratives

May 12, 2026

Scotland: “A state of permanent hyperawareness”

John has been incarcerated for nearly twenty years since the age of 16. Now a husband, a father, and a PhD researcher, he shares his story with us — from his time behind bars to how prison still impacts him today. Interview.

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October 23, 2025

The power of the group (1/6)

Hearing the voices of relatives of incarcerated people in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Mexico and the UK reveals one key finding: the group brings enough strength to build resistance. Coming together offers a space for dialogue, mutual support, and the ability to build concrete responses to d…

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October 23, 2025

The echo of violence (2/6)

How are the lives of relatives affected when someone they love is deprived of liberty? Feelings of powerlessness, dehumanisation, daily life disruption — prison affects not only the incarcerated people but also, often invisibly, those left on the outside.

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October 23, 2025

The cost of incarceration (3/6)

The State deprives people of their freedom and ignores everything else. It is the relatives — most often women — who bear the costs of imprisonment and support those in prison, while trying to keep life going outside.

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Press Review

July 23, 2026

Palestine: new weapons, repressive measures used to torture Palestinian in prison in Israeli prisons

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said on Monday that the Israel Prison Service has turned the use of rubber bullets against Palestinian detainees into a systematic punitive policy in recent months.

July 23, 2026

Scotland: the European Committee of the Prevention of Torture warns that life in male prisons is negatively impacted by overcrowding

July 15, 2026

Malta: investigation needed into excessive heat at the prisons

July 15, 2026

Sri Lanka: there must be truth and accountability for prison violence

July 9, 2026

United States: independent report finds alarming violence at state prisons

July 3, 2026

India: space constraints force incarcerated people in Kerala to sleep in shifts

June 22, 2026

Colombia: presidential candidate De La Espriella proposes mega-prisons, crime crackdown

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Investigations

January 6, 2026

Investigation into “suspicious” deaths in Europe

Despite the prison authorities’ assurances that European standards are respected, some deaths in prison remain unexplained. An investigation into these “suspicious” deaths in European prisons.

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January 6, 2026

Investigation into the overlooked suicides in Europe

Between doctor shortages, insufficient psychological monitoring and the adverse effects of imprisonment, Europe has failed to contain the wave of suicides in its prisons. An investigation into France, Romania and Hungary.

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October 15, 2025

Nordic prisons, human prisons?

Nordic prison systems are often held up as models of respect for human rights and rehabilitation. Is this really the case, or do they mainly benefit from an idealised image? Answers.

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December 1, 2025

Locking up the opposition

In this long-format article, Prison Insider explores how defending human rights can become a reason for incarceration, in every part of the world.

Insights Testimonial

October 7, 2025

Connecting Stories Beyond Bars

‘Connecting Stories Beyond Bars - The invisible impact of prison on relatives’ is a six-episode docuseries produced with Acifad (Argentina), Amparar (Brasil), Relais Famille (Canada), OIP-SF (France), Documenta (Mexico) and POPS (UK).

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