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Seen in the press
Read our selection of press reports about this country. This is a short description of prison conditions on a national scale. It gives an account of the preceding year’s events.
USA: inside the deadly coronavirus outbreak at Oakdale federal prison
“I just feel like we were all let down,” said one prisoner. At least 39 staff and 113 inmates have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a staff source. Alfred Reece says the outbreak began when his teacher got sick. A former accountant serving an 8-year sentence for convictions related…
Hong Kong: protesters say they were tortured in prison
Three anti-government protesters said on Tuesday that they had been tortured and abused while detained in a Hong Kong prison, alleging they were taken to areas away from surveillance footage and beaten and slapped. Appearing via Skype and in a pre-recorded video shown at a press conference organise…
Brazil: inmates protest suspension of visits
A riot broke out Saturday at a prison in the city of Manaus in Brazil’s Amazon state, as inmates protested the suspension of all visits to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The inmates at the Puraquequara facility held prison guards hostage for more than five hours before authorities brought t…
New Zealand: Auckland prisoners confined to cells for up to 29 hours at a time
Women at an Auckland prison have been routinely confined to their cells for periods of up to 29 hours at a stretch - well outside the law, which says they should get at least one hour out of their cells a day. RNZ took evidence of the lockdown hours including a recently released prisoner’s diary, t…
France: par delà les murs de la prison, la parole déconfinée
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
Brazil: Covid-19 massacre imminent
Open and poorly treated wounds, food waste on the cell floor, rat faeces, little ventilation, water rationing, insects everywhere. While some inmates do not even get up from their beds, such is their weak state of health, others are stuck in wheelchairs. To wash one’s body or one’s hands or clean a…
Türkiye: a life in isolation
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) prisoners represent a minority. Their protection is not ensured at all levels and their specific needs are neglected. Hilal Basak Demirbas works at the Society in the Penal System association. She regularly exchanges letters with LGBTI prison…Estonia: Coronavirus crisis exit strategy launched in prisons
TALLINN – Estonian prisons on Wednesday launched the strategy for exiting the emergency situation resulting from the spread of coronavirus, the Ministry of Justice said. The five-day shifts of prison officials were concluded as of Wednesday and the scheduled treatment of prisoners will continue bot…
Hungary: Tight measures in a closed system
The Hungarian penitentiary institutions have become even more closed and less transparent since the COVID-19 outbreak. On 5 April 2020, a Government Decree introduced tighter measures for prisons. The Hungarian Helsinki Committee updates us on the situation.France: Nicole Belloubet, "le taux d’occupation moyen des prisons est inférieur à 100 %"
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
Peru: mutinerie dans une prison, trois morts
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
France: "le confinement en détention, c’est la prison dans la prison"
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
France: Maïtena Biraben, "ce qui nous horrifie dans les Ehpad devrait nous horrifier dans les prisons"
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
France: vers un monde (presque) sans prison ?
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
Peru: prison riot over coronavirus fears leaves nine dead
Nine inmates died during a riot at a Lima jail amid fears that Peru’s prisons are becoming a breeding ground for coronavirus after two inmates died of COVID-19 and more than 600 inmates were tested positive. The disturbance broke out at the Miguel Castro Castro jail in the east of the Peruvian capi…USA: the violent history of Angola prison
The Louisiana State Penitentiary is named after the slave plantation that existed on that land where the prison now stands. Columbia University explains that the plantation took its name from the nation its slaves were taken from: Angola. In 1880, former Confederate Major Samuel James purchased the…
Syria: prisoner from eastern Ghouta dies under torture in Sednaya prison
Syrian Observatory activists have documented the death of a civilian from Saqba city in eastern Ghouta, seven years after being arrested at a security checkpoint in Damascus. The victim died under torture in Sednaya prison (known as the Slaughterhouse). With the death of more civilians, the number…
El Salvador : imposes maximum security prison lockdowns after homicide spree organised from behind bars
El Salvador president Nayib Bukele ordered a 24-hour lockdown of prisons containing gang members, and said their leaders would be sent into solitary confinement after a sudden spike in homicides. The remarkable announcement was made last Friday, after a series of grisly incidents were reported to h…Mexico: buscan erradicar estigmas penitenciarios a través del empleo
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: Spanish