Information, topic by topic, on prisons across the world

April 30, 2026

Russia: at least 6 political prisoners died in custody in the first 4 months of 2026

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According to data from the human rights organization Memorial, more than 5,000 people in Russia are victims of political repression. At least 68 of them have died in custody over the past decade and a half, including at least six since the start of 2026.

April 15, 2026

Russia: at 15, he became one of Russia’s youngest political prisoners. He now faces new charges

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Arseny Turbin became one of the youngest political prisoners in Russia when he was arrested at age 15 in 2023.

April 11, 2026

Russia: Russian listed by Memorial as political prisoner goes on hunger strike

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A former Moscow district official serving a long prison sentence in Russia for what he says were trumped-up political charges has declared a “dry hunger strike”, refusing both food and water.

March 12, 2026

Russia: prison service faces staffing crisis as shortages top 30%, officials say

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Russia’s prison service is grappling with a deepening staffing shortage, with tens of thousands of positions unfilled last year.

March 4, 2026

Russia: prison population falls to historic low, deputy chief justice says

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Russia’s prison population has fallen to a historic low, the newly appointed first deputy chief justice of the Supreme Court said, coming after years of the Russian military’s recruitment of incarcerated people to fight in Ukraine.

February 6, 2026

Russia: people in prison are having up to 75% of their money transfers confiscated

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In a number of Russian penal colonies and prisons, up to 75% of money transfers sent to incarcerated people by relatives and loved ones are being withheld in order to “cover the costs of their upkeep.”

January 29, 2026

Russia: Human Rights Commissioner calls for expanded repatriation agreements for foreign incarcerated people

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Speaking at a meeting of the Russian Ministry of Justice’s collegium, she highlighted frequent appeals from women from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, who are seeking assistance in transferring their relatives to serve their sentences closer to home.

April 30, 2025

Russia: inside Taganrog, beatings, electrocution and starvation at prison where Ukrainians were tortured

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Russia is holding an estimated 16,000 civilians in arbitrary detention at 180 separate facilities. Taganrog was the most notorious.

March 4, 2025

Russia: documentary reveals the late Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna was brutally tortured while in captivity

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The late Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna, who was captured by Russian forces in the summer of 2023, was subjected to severe torture while in detention, according to an investigative documentary by Slidstvo.Info titled “Vika’s Last Assignment.”

January 10, 2025

Russia: how a juvenile detention centre in Taganrog was turned into a torture camp for Ukrainian imprisoned people

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What was once a detention centre for juveniles and women with children, Detention Centre No. 2, or SIZO-2, in Taganrog has for over two and a half years been used to detain captured Ukrainians. The facility has become notorious for inhumane conditions.

April 15, 2024

Russia: Tajikistan denounces 'torture' of Tajik suspects in Moscow attack, urges fair trial

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Asia Justice Torture Violence Russia

Tajikistan’s foreign minister has described the beating and abuse of several Tajik suspects in the mass killing of more than 140 people at a Russian concert hall as “torture” that is at odds with the need for a thorough investigation and a fair trial.

April 9, 2024

Russia: the country runs a hidden prison system for Ukrainian in Crimea

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Human rights monitors claim that occupation forces engage in torture and prolonged captivity in a sprawling penal network.

March 21, 2024

Russia: prisoner war recruitment craze forces russian prison closures

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Asia Justice Facilities Russia

The Kremlin has recruited so many inmates to boost its manpower in the war in Ukraine that some Russian prisons are shuttering altogether.

February 23, 2024

Russia: workers at prison where Navalny died reportedly tried to pass off inmate’s death from torture as suicide

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Asia Facilities Torture Russia

Workers at the “Polar Wolf” prison in Russia’s Far North where Alexey Navalny died once tried to pass off another inmate’s death as a suicide when he actually died as a result of torture, the investigative outlet Holod reported on Friday.

February 16, 2024

Russia: Putin critic Alexei Navalny dies in Arctic Circle jail

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Asia Justice Material conditions Violence Russia

Russia’s most significant opposition leader for the past decade, Alexei Navalny, has died in an Arctic Circle jail, the prison service has said. President Vladimir Putin’s most vociferous critic, he was serving 19 years on extremism charges that were widely seen as politically motivated.

January 11, 2024

Russia: Alexei Navalny’s impassioned speech at the Supreme Court

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Asia Material conditions Violence Russia

The Supreme Court reviewed two lawsuits filed by Alexei Navalny against the Ministry of Justice, seeking to invalidate several sections of the Internal Regulations (IR) in penal colonies.

February 15, 2023

Russia: prisoners of the battlefield

Interview

Crises Europe Violence Russia

The conflict in Ukraine also impacts the individuals incarcerated in Russia. Many of them have been recruited by the Wagner Group over the past few months to participate in the fighting. Dmitry Gurin from EPLN shared with us what they know about this recruitment campaign.

January 25, 2023

Russia: seen in the press / 2023

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Violence, acts of protest, prison conditions, justice reforms: find out what is new about prisons and justice in this country. Prison Insider monitors the press on a regular basis. Change the language setting to French or Spanish to read other articles.

December 8, 2022

Russia: Brittney Griner facing ‘terrible’ life at remote penal colony

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Asia Violence Russia

The inmates at IK-2 penal colony rise at 6 a.m. each day for a breakfast of milk porridge, bread and tea. Soon they leave their barracks at this aging facility about 300 miles southeast of Moscow, in the isolated republic of Mordovia.

November 29, 2022

Russia: Navalni denuncia un endurecimiento de las condiciones de detención

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This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: Spanish

November 28, 2022

Russia: a prison hospital became a torture dungeon

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Asia Health Violence Russia

“Strapped down, had genitals shoved in their faces”. How a prison hospital in Krasnoyarsk became a torture dungeon

November 18, 2022

Russie : Des prisonniers russes envoyés par dizaines de milliers sur le front ukrainien

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Asia Violence Russia

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

October 14, 2022

Russia: las autoridades penitenciarias imponen duras condiciones a Alexei Navalny

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Europe Material conditions Torture Violence Russia

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: Spanish

September 30, 2022

Russia: Brit POW Shaun Pinner was electrocuted and forced to listen to ABBA for 24 hours during torture sessions

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Asia Foreign prisoners Torture Violence Russia

Hostage Shaun Pinner was electrocuted, stabbed, subjected to a mock execution and forced to listen to ABBA during his time in captivity.The ex-British Army soldier had to endure Mamma Mia over and over during 24-hour music torture sessions.