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Women
Europe
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Ireland
The prison population across Ireland exceeds 5,000 in a system with bed capacity for over 4,600, leaving the Irish Prison Service operating at 14% over capacity.
Africa
Pre-trial detention
Women
Material conditions
Overcrowding
South Africa
Female and remand people in prison are enduring massive overcrowding at Cape Town’s Pollsmoor correctional facility, parliamentarians discovered during an oversight visit.
Africa
Health
Overcrowding
South Sudan
National Prison Service of South Sudan (NPSSS) and health officials in the Western Bahr el Ghazal State capital, Wau, have confirmed that one incarcerated person died of cholera and at least five are in critical condition after contracting the disease at Wau Central Prison.
Women
Activities
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Sierra Leone
After spending almost four years in prison in Freetown, football has provided Marie with the chance of a fresh start in life. While behind bars at a correctional facility in the capital, she enrolled in the first-ever coaching course for women in prison.
Central America and the Caribbean
Pre-trial detention
Women
Drugs
Overcrowding
Mexico
Official data from the Mexican government shows the country’s prison system faces a critical overcrowding crisis. By February 2025, 240,212 people were incarcerated in 275 prisons with an official capacity of 224,825.
Asia
Mental health
Suicide
Violence
Armenia
An incarcerated person has died by suicide at Armenia’s Nubarashen correctional facility. According to the penitentiary service, 54-year-old Z.H. hanged himself on 20 April. This marks the 10th death and the 5th suicide in Armenian prisons within the first four months of this year.
Europe
Social ties
Rehabilitation
United Kingdom
A charity has appealed for more volunteers to get involved with its transport scheme, to help families of people in prison maintain contact.
Europe
Mental health
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Rehabilitation
Belgium
Overcrowding in Ghent prison reached alarming proportions in 2024, according to a new report by the Inspection Committee. The number of complaints from incarcerated people about living conditions in the prison has risen sharply.
Africa
Elderly prisoners
Health
Overcrowding
South Sudan
Health officials in Lakes State have reported cases of chickenpox and suspected measles at Rumbek Central Prison, with 24 infections identified among incarcerated people. State Health Director General said that two elderly were severely infected, while the rest were between 25 and 30 years old.
Crises
Middle East
Justice
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Egypt
Ahmed Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, whose father is also in prison, faces up to 10 years behind bars after being arrested in New Cairo.
Pakistan: Punjab launches prison sports initiative to promote incarcerated people rehabilitation
News
Asia
Social ties
Rehabilitation
Pakistan
The Punjab government has launched indoor sports competitions across jails in the province, following the directive of Home Secretary Noor-ul-Amin Mengal. The initiative, which kicked off with an intra-region volleyball tournament, aims to promote positive activities and provide a healthier environ…
Crises
Middle East
Justice
Health
Mental health
Iran
Political prisoner Davood Hadadinia has begun a hunger strike in Yasouj Prison to protest his continued detention and the lack of progress in processing his case.
North America
Access to legal rights
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Canada
It’s election day at prisons and jails across the country, and as incarcerated people cast their ballots behind bars, a Canadian Senator is trying to break down barriers so they can make an informed choice.
Middle East
Justice
Health
Suicide
Torture
Social ties
Egypt
A 29-year-old man committed suicide in his cell at Badr 3 Prison, located east of Cairo, the Shehab Centre for Human Rights said. The rights group added that the suicide took place after a series of violations carried out by the prison’s administration against the man, identified as Alaa Jamal.
South Africa: seven officials from Mangaung prison suspended after murder of incarcerated person
News
Africa
Justice
Violence
Social ties
South Africa
Seven prison officials at the Mangaung Correctional Centre have been suspended following the murder of an imprisoned person. Mpho Mkhumbeni died on 12 March, following an unauthorised raid of his cell where he was pepper-sprayed and beaten the night before.
Culture
Asia
Access to legal rights
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Azerbaijan
Afiyyaddin Mammadov, the detained chair of the Labor Desk Trade Union Confederation, writes that in detention centers and in penitentiary facilities, access to the media and information is restricted, censorship is applied, and laws are being violated.
Europe
Overcrowding
Social ties
Alternatives
Rehabilitation
Belgium
The state of prisons - notably overcrowding, poor staff working conditions and inadequate access to support for imprisoned people - are not conducive to rehabilitation, according to a new report by the Brussels Federation of Institutions for Inmates and Former Prisoners (Fidex).