April 26, 2017 Egypt pardons 1,118 prisoners News Africa Middle East Egypt Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi yesterday signed a decree granting amnesty to 1,118 non- political prisoners on the anniversary of the liberation of Sinai, according to the country’s interior ministry.
April 26, 2017 Romanian Senate’s committee votes pardon for jail sentences of up to 3 years News Justice Romania The Romanian Senate’s legal committee yesterday approved an amendment to the pardon law that grants full pardon only to prison sentences of up to three years.
April 26, 2017 Nepal: new prison houses to be built in 17 districts News Asia Facilities Nepal The Department of Prison Management would replace old and earthquake-damaged prisons in 17 districts with the new ones. The construction will be undertaken in collaboration with the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction.
April 26, 2017 France : sortir de l'inflation sécuritaire News Europe France This article is not available in English. If you wish, you can consult the French version.
April 26, 2017 New prisons to accommodate overcrowded inmates would cost Romania more than EUR 1 billion News Facilities Overcrowding Romania Marius Vulpe, the director of National Penitentiaries Administration (ANP), said Romania would need to build 8 modern prisons to solve the issue of prison overcrowding, News.ro reported. The new facilities could accommodate 8,000 to 8,500 inmates and would cost EUR 140 million each, resulting in to…
April 26, 2017 Myanmar: prisoners to be allowed to join in religious activities News Asia Religion Myanmar (Burma) The Prisons Department will allow inmates to carry out religious activities once a month starting from the new fiscal year, said the department’s deputy director from Security Section.
April 26, 2017 United Kingdom: teen's detention breached prison rules, Liz Truss admits News Europe United Kingdom A 16-year-old boy held in solitary confinement for four months was a victim of procedural “failings”, Liz Truss has admitted.
April 26, 2017 Romania: Europe rights court blasts Romania prison conditions News Europe Justice Material conditions Romania The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday (25 April) took Romania to task for its dismal prison conditions, saying they could be considered inhumane and degrading.
April 26, 2017 Philippines: no resurrection of death penalty at the Senate News Asia Philippines The bill seeking to revive the death penalty is already “dead in the Senate.”
April 26, 2017 Guinée : des acteurs du milieu carcéral veulent "rendre la vie supportable" dans les prisons guinéennes News Africa Guinea This article is not available in English. If you wish, you can consult the French version.
April 25, 2017 United States: privately run federal prison poses safety risks for inmates, says DOJ inspector general News North America United States A new report by the Department of Justice’s Inspector General says a privately-run federal prison in Kansas put the safety of its inmates in jeopardy because of understaffing, overcrowding and poor training.
April 25, 2017 United States: policy shifts reduce federal prison population News North America United States A decline in the number of federal prosecutions and in the severity of sentences for drug-related crime in recent years has resulted in a significant drop in the federal prison population, according to statistics from the Judiciary, the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC), and the Bureau of Prisons (…
April 25, 2017 United States: Arkansas puts two inmates to death in state's first double execution since 2000 News North America Death penalty United States Jack Jones and Marcel Williams administered lethal injections after death penalty carried out on fellow convict Ledell Lee last week
April 25, 2017 United States: bill to eliminate death penalty in Louisiana advances past committee News North America Justice United States Every day and night, former Louisiana prosecutor A.M. Stroud thinks about Glenn Ford, the man he wrongfully sent to prison for almost half of his life and who would have been executed by the state had he not been exonerated 30 years after his conviction.
April 25, 2017 India: 404 prisoners in Odisha pass the test News Asia India 194 cleared NIOS exams, 187 completed IGNOU courses, says jail official
April 25, 2017 Tunisia parliament votes to ease harsh drug law News Justice Drugs Tunisia Tunisian parliament votes to ease country’s harsh drug laws aftercalls from rights groups, civil society for broader reform of ‘Law 52’.
April 25, 2017 Israeli prison allows homosexual conjugal visit for first time News Middle East Social ties Israel Tarlan Hankishayev, jailed for falsely incriminating suspect in a 2009 gay youth club shooting, wins long fight for rights
April 25, 2017 Bangladesh: life imprisonment means jail for rest of life News Asia Bangladesh The Supreme Court has published the full verdict commuting death sentences of two convicts to life imprisonment, making it clear that they will be imprisoned for the rest of their lives.
April 25, 2017 Tunisia parliament votes to ease harsh drug law News Drugs Tunisia Tunisian parliament votes to ease country’s harsh drug laws aftercalls from rights groups, civil society for broader reform of ‘Law 52’.
April 25, 2017 Australia: 'I always feel sad here': children tell of life inside Victoria's youth detention centres News Oceania Australia Young people speak of fear, boredom and injustice in a submission to a parliamentary inquiry into the state’s troubled youth justice sector
April 25, 2017 Breaking the circle Portfolio Minors Rehabilitation Sierra Leone Minors released from prison have no access to reentry programs. Some go back to the streets and try to survive; others receive support from various organisations.
April 24, 2017 United States: we’re jailing way more people who’ve been convicted of exactly nothing News North America United States New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s promise to close the notoriously overcrowded and brutal Riker’s Island jail made national news last month, but less famous policymakers all over the country struggle with jail overcrowding on a regular basis (see, for example, Kansas, Indiana and Upstate New Yor…
April 24, 2017 United States: fourth Arkansas execution in eight days prompts questions about inmate’s movements News North America Death penalty United States Arkansas executed a death-row inmate late Thursday in the state’s fourth lethal injection in eight days, concluding a frantic execution schedule officials said was necessary to carry out death sentences before one of their drugs expired.
April 24, 2017 Censura al amor, soledad y tortura: ser LGBT en una cárcel de Colombia News Torture Colombia This article is not available in English. If you wish, you can consult the Spanish version.