Information, topic by topic, on prisons across the world

December 22, 2021

Danemark : Pourquoi le pays veut envoyer 300 détenus dans une prison du Kosovo

News

Europe Justice Overcrowding Denmark

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

December 14, 2021

How Europe’s prisons have fared in the Covid-19 pandemic

Analysis

Coronavirus Europe Health Overcrowding

Prisons make fertile breeding grounds for viruses, yet administrations have revealed little about Covid-19 cases, deaths and vaccinations in Europe’s prisons. Data from 32 countries show the pandemic’s impact on prisons

December 9, 2021

España: Los trabajadores de las cárceles de Alicante, «abandonados» por el Ministerio del Interior

News

Europe Spain

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

December 9, 2021

Europa ha conseguido evitar el desastre del covid en las cárceles, pero ¿a qué precio?

News

Coronavirus Europe Overcrowding

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

December 8, 2021

United Kingdom: seen in the press / 2021

News

Europe United Kingdom

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.

December 7, 2021

Russia: “They’re killing us!”

News Investigations

Asia Europe Discipline Torture Russia

Prison Insider was contacted by an anonymous Russian source. They asked us to expose the abuse inflicted on prisoners in the Angarsk Penal Colony No. 15 following the riot there in April 2020. We explain how the events unfolded below.

December 7, 2021

Ireland: Prison visits by children to see parents plummets

News

Coronavirus Europe Social ties Ireland

The number of children who have visited a parent in prison this year has plummeted to just a fraction of the figure for last year.

December 6, 2021

Suisse : Hans Wolff, “Avec la pandémie, le risque suicidaire a explosé en prison“

News

Coronavirus Europe Mental health Suicide Switzerland

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

December 6, 2021

Austria: “Nobody knew how to deal with the virus”

Investigations

Coronavirus Europe Social ties Rehabilitation Work Austria

Two years of Coronavirus, two incarcerated men: Journalist Sarah Yolanda Koss dives into the everyday life of two Austrian prisons.

December 2, 2021

France: place for security

Interview

Europe Justice Material conditions Overcrowding France

The increase in resources allocated to the prison administration is mainly focused on creating new prison places, to the detriment of reintegration. Organisations are outraged by this.

November 23, 2021

Belgium: seen in the press / 2021

News

Europe Belgium

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.

October 28, 2021

España: Navarra implantará en la cárcel de Pamplona programas sobre salud mental e igualdad de género

News

Women Europe Mental health Spain

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

October 28, 2021

España: Finalizan las obras de rehabilitación de la Cárcel Vieja de Murcia

News

Europe Facilities Spain

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

October 18, 2021

France: for moral sociology in prison

Interview

Europe Material conditions Overcrowding Violence Rehabilitation France

How can we consider prison critique? What tools can be used to adapt the role of prisons and the meaning of sentences? Is there hope for a successful outcome?

October 15, 2021

Europe: questioning the use of pre-trial detention

Coronavirus Pre-trial detention Europe Justice

Laure Baudrihaye-Gérard, European legal director of Fair Trials, and Diana Riba i Giner MEP (Greens/EFA), discuss the potential normalisation of digital hearings in the wake of the pandemic, and the over-use of pre-trial detention.

October 14, 2021

France: seen in the press / 2021

News

Europe France

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.

October 13, 2021

Lithuania: converting prison into migrant reception centre

News

Europe Facilities Lithuania

With only a few weeks’ notice, the Lithuanian border guard service has turned a large prison in the southwest of the country into the country’s biggest migrant centre.

October 12, 2021

Russie : un lanceur d’alerte dénonce un système de viols organisés en prison

News

Europe Torture Violence Russia

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

October 11, 2021

A very disturbing situation

Interview

Africa Europe Middle East Torture Violence

The torture and abuse of prisoners have become commonplace over the years. How did these excesses come about? A recently published report takes up this topic.

October 7, 2021

Global Prison Trends 2021

Report

Africa Coronavirus Women Asia Europe Minors Middle East Oceania Health Material conditions Overcrowding Death penalty

More than eleven million people are imprisoned around the world. Of this number, 70% are awaiting trial, a percentage that has been continuously increasing since 2000.

September 28, 2021

Malta: when it comes to prison, the statistics are very telling

News

Europe Material conditions Overcrowding Malta

Statistics are very telling. In Malta the rate of recidivism (people who commit crimes upon release and end up in prison again) is at around 70 per cent, if not more.

September 27, 2021

Global prison crisis

Interview

Africa Coronavirus Crises Asia Europe Middle East Oceania Overcrowding

The world prison population is still increasing. How does the COVID-19 crisis differ from other ongoing or future crises? Are prison environments doomed to be in perpetual crisis?

September 27, 2021

Belgium: a parent in prison

Interview

Europe Social ties Belgium

The Relais Enfants-Parents (REP) association works to maintain the relationship between a child and their imprisoned parent. How does this mediation take place? Does it allow for in-person visits? Interview.

September 27, 2021

Belgium: regular crisis and health crisis

Interview

Coronavirus Crises Europe Health Overcrowding Belgium

Belgian prisons, already criticised for their dilapidation and incarceration conditions, have been closed off since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. What measures have been taken to deal with the health crisis?