Material conditions
Russia: former political prisoner takes Russia to court over torture conditions in Crimean prison
News
Asia
Access to legal rights
Justice
Health
Material conditions
Torture
Violence
Russia
Hearings have begun in occupied Crimea into the lawsuit brought by Kazim Ametov against Russia’s penitentiary service and police over the inhuman conditions he was held prisoner in for over two years. The chances of a Russian-controlled “court” finding in favour of the former political prisoner are…
United States: can correctional facilities negotiate phone contracts that prohibit deposit fees ?
News
North America
Material conditions
Social ties
United States
Yes ! Many do. We review the evidence and find 15 states that said no to unnecessary fees. Who will be next ?
Women
Europe
Access to legal rights
Material conditions
Ireland
The Irish Prison Service (IPS) is set to spend more than €1.6m on bras, underwear, anoraks, and other items of clothing for inmates over the next three years.
Nighties, dressing gowns, and tracksuits are among 30 categories of clothing sought by the IPS in an invitation for tenders. The successful…
Belgique : une délégation profite de la visite du roi Philippe pour dénoncer des "conditions indignes"
News
Coronavirus
Europe
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Health
Material conditions
Protest
Social ties
Belgium
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
Coronavirus
Europe
Minors
Access to legal rights
Mental health
Material conditions
United Kingdom
The 18-year-old didn’t want to be in jail, he told Department of Correction officials one day in 2019, as he covered the window in his cell with a sheet and mattress. He wanted to be with his family.
He was being held in a “Restrictive Housing Unit” at Manson Youth Institution in Cheshire, confined…
North America
Access to legal rights
Health
Mental health
Material conditions
United States
British prisons and jails must provide for vegan inmates by law; as of January this year, veganism is an explicitly protected belief under the Equality Act 2010, the same as religious beliefs.
This protection is not absolute, nor does veganism have legal protection everywhere in the world. In the U…
United States: California law is step forward but fails to guarantee safety for trans prisoners
News
North America
Women
Access to legal rights
Justice
Health
Mental health
Material conditions
Violence
United States
Syiaah Skylit has been imprisoned in California since 2015. Despite multiple requests to be placed in a women’s prison, Skylit, a Black trans woman, has always been incarcerated in the state’s men’s prisons. There, she has faced attacks by incarcerated men as well as sexual abuse and retaliation by…
Oceania
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Justice
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Philippines
The Supreme Court “threw away the opportunity” to clarify guidelines on how humanitarian considerations can be applied to prisoners.
France : faim, manque d’hygiène et chantage, le calvaire des pauvres en prison
News
Coronavirus
Women
Europe
Health
Drugs
Material conditions
Social ties
France
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
France: l’indignité des conditions de détention provisoire comme motif de mise en liberté
News
Pre-trial detention
Europe
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Justice
Material conditions
France
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
Coronavirus
Europe
Material conditions
Facilities
Social ties
United Kingdom
The rollout of secure video calls in prisons should be speeded up to ease the distress of families and their loved ones unable to see each other since the cancellation of social visits, a new briefing by the Prison Reform Trust (PRT) suggests.
Based on 278 contributions from families and prisoners…
Africa
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Discipline
Health
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Protest
Overcrowding
Violence
Nigeria
A source explained that while 15 people died during the incident, three other persons died from the bullet injury sustained as the correctional service denied the inmates medical treatment.
North America
Minors
Access to legal rights
Justice
Mental health
Material conditions
Violence
United States
Detainees in Texas’ juvenile prisons suffer from frequent physical and sexual abuse, inadequate mental healthcare and high rates of staff turnover, two youth advocacy groups wrote in a federal complaint Wednesday.
The rights of the hundreds of youths detained in five secure facilities around the st…
Coronavirus
North America
Women
Access to legal rights
Health
Material conditions
United States
“I am forced to make a choice on what’s more important, my freedom or my health,” Ortega said.
Argentina: advierten por los riesgos de contagio en las cárceles debido a la sobrepoblación
News
Coronavirus
South America
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Health
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Argentina
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: Spanish
South Africa: sounding the alarm
Interview
Africa
Coronavirus
Crises
Justice
Health
Material conditions
Social ties
South Africa
“The numbers kept going up, and up, and up and up…”. More than 2,700 South African prisoners are infected with the coronavirus. We have asked three questions to the NGO Sonke Gender Justice.
Venezuela: denuncian violación de DDHC a reclusos en la subdelegación Cicpc Las Acacias
News
Pre-trial detention
South America
Access to legal rights
Justice
Health
Mental health
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Social ties
Venezuela
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: Spanish
Europe
Access to legal rights
Material conditions
Albania
For several days, the prisoners and detainees in the detention rooms in Peqin prison have started a hunger strike, in protest against alleged violations of their human rights.
Coronavirus
North America
Access to legal rights
Health
Material conditions
Rehabilitation
Work
United States
States like California, New York, and Arizona have relied on prisoners to continue working, with little pay and in precarious conditions, during the coronavirus pandemic.
North America
Minors
Access to legal rights
Justice
Mental health
Material conditions
Violence
United States
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued notice on February 5, 2020 that it has found the “totality of the conditions, practices, and incidents” it discovered at Broad River Road Complex (BRRC), South Carolina’s long-term juvenile commitment facility, violated the juveniles’ Fourteenth Amendment…
Venezuela: el ministerio penitenciario ortogó 80 libertades con régimen de confianza en Guárico
News
South America
Access to legal rights
Justice
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Venezuela
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: Spanish
Argentina: not crazy or dead
Interview
South America
Access to legal rights
Justice
Material conditions
Torture
Argentina
The treatment meted out to political prisoners during the military dictatorship sought to completely destroy them. Sergio Ferrari was one of these prisoners. We spoke with him.
Coronavirus
South America
Material conditions
Protest
Torture
Argentina
The country has the third largest prison population on the South American continent.