April 2025
Cameroon: still falling short
Interview
Africa
Access to legal rights
Justice
Death penalty
Cameroon
Access to justice is hindered. There is no mechanism to monitor prisons, and the death penalty remains part of the penal code. Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture in Cameroon is campaigning on all these fronts.
Mutineers, rebels and objectors
Analysis
Inside Outside
Africa
North America
South America
Asia
Europe
Middle East
Protest
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. Eighth piece: rebellion.
Africa
Elderly prisoners
Health
Overcrowding
South Sudan
Health officials in Lakes State have reported cases of chickenpox and suspected measles at Rumbek Central Prison, with 24 infections identified among incarcerated people. State Health Director General said that two elderly were severely infected, while the rest were between 25 and 30 years old.
North America
Access to legal rights
Social ties
Canada
It’s election day at prisons and jails across the country, and as incarcerated people cast their ballots behind bars, a Canadian Senator is trying to break down barriers so they can make an informed choice.
South Africa: seven officials from Mangaung prison suspended after murder of incarcerated person
News
Africa
Justice
Violence
Social ties
South Africa
Seven prison officials at the Mangaung Correctional Centre have been suspended following the murder of an imprisoned person. Mpho Mkhumbeni died on 12 March, following an unauthorised raid of his cell where he was pepper-sprayed and beaten the night before.
Tunisia: relentless harassment
Testimonial
Africa
Pre-trial detention
Women
Access to legal rights
Health
Material conditions
Violence
Social ties
Tunisia
Sonia Dahmani is a lawyer who has made the defence of women’s rights her personal crusade. She was violently arrested over a comment made during a media appearance, and immediately imprisoned. Her sister, Ramla, has become her voice. This is her account.
Caught in the spiral
Thematic paper
Africa
Pre-trial detention
Asia
Access to legal rights
Justice
Drugs
Alternatives
Rehabilitation
What are the human and social costs of the recourse to imprisonment? This series explores the experiences of various civil society organisations, formerly incarcerated people, researchers and policy makers challenging the criminalisation of poverty, status or activism.
Culture
Asia
Access to legal rights
Social ties
Azerbaijan
Afiyyaddin Mammadov, the detained chair of the Labor Desk Trade Union Confederation, writes that in detention centers and in penitentiary facilities, access to the media and information is restricted, censorship is applied, and laws are being violated.
Europe
Overcrowding
Social ties
Alternatives
Rehabilitation
Belgium
The state of prisons - notably overcrowding, poor staff working conditions and inadequate access to support for imprisoned people - are not conducive to rehabilitation, according to a new report by the Brussels Federation of Institutions for Inmates and Former Prisoners (Fidex).
Pre-trial detention
Europe
Mental health
Suicide
United Kingdom
Jordan Burns made several attempts to take his own life during 10 months as an unconvicted person on remand at Scotland’s HMP Addiewell before he suffered an overdose whilst alone in his cell. His grieving mother Janice is suing the prison so it “never happens again”.
North America
Mental health
Social ties
Religion
United States
Thirteen incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals who died within the past year were remembered during the fourth annual Mourning Our Losses ceremony last month inside San Quentin Rehabilitation Center.
Crises
Minors
Middle East
Long-term prisoners
Health
Mental health
Torture
Israel
Israeli authorities released 23-year-old Ahmad Manasra from Nafha Prison in the Negev Desert, ending 10 years of imprisonment. Ahmad Manasra’s lawyer told Al Mayadeen that his client was released in a highly fragile mental state.
Women
Asia
Minors
Social ties
Rehabilitation
Pakistan
The Sindh government intends to build special hostels to provide secure accommodation facilities to former incarcerated female to help their drive to gain economic independence in their lives after release from jail.
Africa
Women
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Rehabilitation
Sudan
The authorities at Wau Central Prison said they released 31 incarcerated people, 4 men and 27 women, after a local company called Lukluk paid off their fines.
North America
Elderly prisoners
Long-term prisoners
Access to legal rights
Justice
Rehabilitation
United States
A new law cedes much of the power of the parole board to an algorithm that prevents thousands of imprisoned people from early release. The risk assessment tool, TIGER, does not take into account efforts they make to rehabilitate themselves.
