Facilities
The Flowers of the Penal Colony
Interview
Europe
Minors
Justice
Material conditions
Facilities
Prison left an indelible mark on the work of Jean Genet, who experienced prison first hand . His life journey and artistic output, deeply intertwined, serve as a source of inspiration for Patti Smith. An interview with Glória Alhinho and Samuel Tracol.
Central America and the Caribbean
Justice
Mental health
Facilities
Antigua & Barbuda
Following a court order mandating that Public Safety Minister Sir Steadroy Benjamin find a suitable place to detain murder-accused schizophrenic Ziggy Beazer, Cabinet yesterday announced that a refurbished facility in Crabbs would serve as this temporary space.
Türkiye: prisons in 2024
Analysis
Pre-trial detention
Women
Europe
Minors
Foreign prisoners
LGBTQI
Long-term prisoners
Mental health
Material conditions
Facilities
Suicide
Torture
Activities
Social ties
Alternatives
Work
Turkey
All there is to know about Turkish prisons in 2024. Key figures, life in detention, references: discover all the data gathered by Prison Insider.
Côte d'Ivoire: prisons in 2025
Analysis
Africa
Pre-trial detention
Women
Minors
Foreign prisoners
LGBTQI
Long-term prisoners
Mental health
Material conditions
Facilities
Suicide
Torture
Activities
Social ties
Alternatives
Work
Côte d’Ivoire
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
Türkiye: a struggle for control
Interview
Europe
Justice
Material conditions
Facilities
Turkey
Turkish prisons underwent significant transformations in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The historical background to this development reflects a conflict between political groups and authorities. Interview with Arda İbikoğlu (Altinbaş University).
North America
Women
Facilities
Violence
United States
The beleaguered federal Bureau of Prisons said Monday it will close a women’s prison in California known as the “rape club” despite attempts to reform the troubled facility after an Associated Press investigation exposed rampant staff-on-inmate sexual abuse.
North America
Facilities
Alternatives
United States
Gov. Gavin Newsom went far beyond the promise he made in his first year in office to close at least one California state prison. But now, he is resisting calls from criminal justice advocates and liberal state lawmakers to shutter five more penitentiaries.
Farther and farther away
Inside Outside
Africa
North America
South America
Asia
Europe
Middle East
Facilities
Prison Insider, represented by Clara Grisot, contributed twelve compositions to the book InsideOutside to articulate, in a few words, the current challenges of prison life. Third piece: institutions.
Central America and the Caribbean
Facilities
Violence
Haiti
Haiti’s national penitentiary is on fire after a blaze broke out in the building on Thursday morning, according to Reuters. A video posted to social media reportedly showed black smoke coming out of the facility.
Africa
Crises
Asia
Europe
Middle East
Access to legal rights
Justice
Material conditions
Facilities
Torture
Alice Jill Edwards was the first woman to be appointed as UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Prison Insider met with her to find out more about what she has to say to justice systems and prison administrations around the world.
Central America and the Caribbean
Material conditions
Facilities
El Salvador
Since the Cecot (Centre for the Confinement of Terrorism) opened on 31 January 2023, the BBC had repeatedly requested access to the mega-prison. It was finally granted two days after President Nayib Bukele claimed victory in the presidential election held on 4 February.
Oceania
Mental health
Material conditions
Facilities
New Zealand
Prisoners seeking mental health support at a prison south of Palmerston North were waiting up to three months to see a clinician, inspectors say.
Minors
Oceania
Material conditions
Facilities
Australia
Youth people in detention have no air conditioning in their cells at Casuarina Prison’s Unit 18. There are fresh calls for Unit 18 to be closed immediately, with authorities yet to answer questions about what else is being done to help detained people stay cool.
Belgium: diverging pathways
Interview
Europe
Material conditions
Facilities
Overcrowding
Alternatives
Belgium
In recent years, authorities have followed a policy of constructing new ‘mega-prisons’. At the same time, the prison estate has welcomed the creation of smaller facilities. The simultaneous development of these opposing approaches raises a number of questions.
Europe
Material conditions
Facilities
Malta
Compared to the Corradino Correctional Facility of 15 years ago, Prisoner Welfare Commissioner Steve Libreri said that there has been a “considerable” improvement in supportive services, the prison environment, as well as a change in the culture of correctional officers, leading to a prison facilit…
North America
Material conditions
Facilities
United States
Additional inmate housing units and an outdoor recreation area along with access to Native American religious leaders must be implemented as part of a settlement with dozens of inmates.