Interview

Changing the prison system: the role of information

It can be difficult to collect data on prisons. Carole Berrih explains the necessity of access to quality information.

Although information on prisons exists, it is often of varying quality and difficult to gather. Few individuals have access to it, sometimes because they have a warrant or other temporary authorisation. Information that is shared may differ in quantity and reliability depending on the country and the transparency of its administration. Carole Berrih is a consultant and an instructor specialising in human rights in prisons. She is regularly called to assess penitentiary policies in countries such as Madagascar, Chad, Albania and Kazakhstan. She then guides the authorities towards reform.

For Carole Berrih, access to quality information enables the promotion of detention conditions that better respect the dignity and fundamental rights of individuals. Interview.

Drawing by J. Klisnick

"The wardens thought that the inmates were getting too much attention."

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