Information, topic by topic, on prisons across the world

April 30, 2020

France: "They’ve put us back in prison"

Testimonial

Coronavirus Europe Health Rehabilitation Work France

Samy is detained on partial release in the west of France, in Le Mans. It is normally possible for these prisoners to go out during the week, notably to seek employment. Faced with the coronavirus pandemic and to limit social contact, those who are on partial release have been placed in detention.…

capture_d_e_cran_2020_02_18_a_15.25.04.png

April 30, 2020

Central African Republic: a woman and a prison director

Testimonial

Africa Women Justice Health Central African Republic

Training, life in prison, lack of staff and budget, security, armed conflicts: Gisèle explains, based on her own experience, how incarceration is managed in a country where resources are scarce, and demands are abundant.

April 29, 2020

Map of the coronavirus in prisons

News

Africa Coronavirus North America Central America and the Caribbean South America Asia Europe Middle East Oceania Health

Prison Insider is partnering with Justice Project Pakistan on its collaborative map to report the number of confirmed cases and deaths among prisoners worldwide.

April 29, 2020

Colombia: van 324 contagios confirmados y tres muertes

News

Coronavirus South America Health Colombia

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

April 28, 2020

Belgium: près de 42.000 masques de protection fabriqués par les détenus

News

Coronavirus Europe Health Work Belgium

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

April 28, 2020

Belgium: les détenus et leurs proches sont en colère et se sentent oubliés

News

Coronavirus Europe Health Social ties Belgium

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

April 28, 2020

El Salvador: where social distancing is impossible

News

Coronavirus Central America and the Caribbean Health Overcrowding El Salvador

Latin America has some of the most overcrowded jails in the world. With prisoners crammed into tiny cells by the dozen, social distancing is impossible and poor medical facilities mean any outbreak of coronavirus would spread like wildfire. The United Nations has urged governments to do more to pro…

April 24, 2020

Afghanistan: prison chief laments conditions in country's jails

News

Asia Health Protest Torture Violence Afghanistan

In unusually frank comments on April 21, Afghanistan’s new prison chief Ahmad Rashid Totakhail complained to journalists about widespread abuses in the country’s prison system. Totakhail described problems ranging from the lack of a comprehensive database on the length of detainees’ sentences to se…

April 24, 2020

Russia: penitentiaries in the pandemic

News

Coronavirus Europe Health Russia

Russian officials say coronavirus hasn’t infected a single inmate, but COVID-19 has undeniably changed life behind bars in big ways Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, several countries around the world have begun releasing large numbers of inmates to curb the spread of the disease behind pri…

April 24, 2020

Cambodia: exclusive footage reveals deplorable prison conditions

News

Coronavirus Asia Health Overcrowding Cambodia

Amnesty International is releasing shocking footage providing first-hand evidence of the inhumane conditions and extreme overcrowding inside one of Cambodia’s prisons. The organization recently called the country’s detention facilities a “ticking time bomb” for a potentially disastrous coronavirus…

April 23, 2020

Egypt: un agujero negro en tiempos del coronavirus

News

Africa Coronavirus Health Egypt

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

April 23, 2020

Colombia: a un mes de tragedia en La Modelo, 73 casos de covid-19 en cárceles

News

South America Health Protest Colombia

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

April 23, 2020

USA: Living behind bars during a pandemic

Testimonial

Coronavirus Health United States

Robert C. is currently serving an 11-year sentence in a prison in Michigan than presents a very high infection rate. He writes about the first outbreak that occurred a couple weeks ago.

April 23, 2020

France: le système judiciaire et les prisons à l'épreuve de la pandémie

News

Coronavirus Europe Justice Health France

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

April 23, 2020

USA: la détresse des détenus libérés en pleine pandémie

News

Coronavirus North America Health United States

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

April 23, 2020

France: la crise sanitaire prouve que réduire la surpopulation carcérale est possible

News

Coronavirus Europe Health Overcrowding France

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

April 23, 2020

Italian prisons: facing the crisis

Interview

Coronavirus Crises Europe Justice Health Violence Italy

Mutinies after the suspension of family visits had a heavy toll on prisoners: 12 prisoners died in March. Prison Insider interviewed Antigone association about the management of the crisis by the authorities.

capture_d_e_cran_2019_11_14_a_11.17.20.png

April 23, 2020

Africa: "the state of prisons is not fixed"

Analysis

Africa Health

The online course Prisons in Africa: experiences, models and circulations gathers theoretical analysis, interviews with diffeerent actors (researchers, prison administration staff, former inmates, and activists). It aims at debunking the idea that all African prisons are the same, invariably labele…

April 22, 2020

Spain: ‘terrified’ prisoners in Mallorca demand to be set free after ‘degrading’ response to Covid-19 that ‘violates their human rights’

News

Coronavirus Europe Health Overcrowding Spain

PRISONERS locked up in Palma de Mallorca’s Penitentiary Centre have demanded to be set free due to the alleged inhuman treatment suffered during the coronavirus crisis. Lawyers representing convicts at the island’s largest prison have made an official request to government officials asking that the…

April 21, 2020

Cyprus: Nicosia prisons lays out measures taken since March 10

News

Coronavirus Europe Health Cyprus

The department for prisons on Friday announced inmates have been allowed additional phone hours and skype calls during the month that visitation has been cancelled due to Covid-19. In an announcement wishing happy Easter holidays to the inmates, the department numbered all the measures implemented…

April 21, 2020

Latvia: no COVID-19 infection cases found in prisons so far

News

Coronavirus Europe Health Latvia

So far not a single COVID-19 infection case has been found in prisons in Latvia – neither among convicts nor among prison guards, said chief of Prison Administration (IeVP) Ilona Spure in an interview to Latvijas Radio. According to her, every new convict, is put in a 14-day quarantine after arriva…

April 21, 2020

France: "on ne sait pas encore si c’est les ERIS ou le virus qui va nous mettre à terre"

News

Coronavirus Europe Health Material conditions France

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

April 21, 2020

Switzerland: à Genève, les juges croulent sous la supplique sanitaire

News

Coronavirus Europe Justice Health Switzerland

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

April 14, 2020

South America: cut prison crowding to fight Covid-19

News

Coronavirus South America Health Overcrowding

(New York) – The unsanitary, overcrowded prisons and juvenile detention centers in most Latin American and Caribbean countries offer prime conditions for outbreaks of COVID-19 that could severely affect the health of detainees and of the population at large, Human Rights Watch said today. In March…