Material conditions
Asia
Health
Mental health
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Violence
Nepal
Prisoners, especially those in judicial custody, face frequent attacks from older inmates.
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).
Europe
Health
Material conditions
United Kingdom
A prisoner who died of malnutrition repeatedly complained that prison food was making his Crohn’s disease symptoms worse, an inquest has heard.
Oceania
Mental health
Material conditions
New Zealand
The discovery that some of Auckland’s most vulnerable prisoners have been locked inside their cells for up to two days at time, for as long as nine months, has alarmed lawyers advocating for the men.
Switzerland: a lack of humanity
Testimonial
Europe
Long-term prisoners
Health
Mental health
Material conditions
Switzerland
Iscu V., a Romanian national, has been incarcerated in Switzerland since 2015. In addition to receiving his sentence, Iscu falls under the lifelong incarceration measure set out in the Swiss Criminal Code. He describes incessant noise, frequent prison transfers and difficulty accessing medical care…
Badinter, "a beacon of light in the mist"
Insights
Interview
Europe
Access to legal rights
Justice
Material conditions
Death penalty
France
Robert Badinter, a leading figure in the abolition of the death penalty in France, passed away on 9 February. Raphaël Chenuil-Hazan, director of Together Against the Death Penalty, became close with the former minister over time through their mutual cause. Here’s the story.
Middle East
Health
Material conditions
Torture
Israel
Juma Abu Ghanima died five days after reports emerged that his health was seriously deteriorating, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Society Prisoners’ Club (PPS) said in an official statement.
Europe
Justice
Material conditions
Protest
Overcrowding
Italy
Prisoners in the northern Italian city of Parma are on hunger strike over poor sanitation and overcrowding, the latest in a spate of protests in the country’s jails where cases of suicide and self-harm are at an all-time high.
Europe
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Torture
Belgium
The incident in which a prisoner in Antwerp was tortured for several days by cellmates is the result of “scandalous working conditions” for staff and prison overcrowding, unions said on Wednesday.
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.
Europe
Material conditions
Social ties
United Kingdom
According to the Prison Service, all 92 closed public-sector prisons in England and Wales will be fully fitted with phones by February 24.
Asia
Justice
Material conditions
Violence
Russia
Russia’s most significant opposition leader for the past decade, Alexei Navalny, has died in an Arctic Circle jail, the prison service has said. President Vladimir Putin’s most vociferous critic, he was serving 19 years on extremism charges that were widely seen as politically motivated.
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.
South America
Justice
Material conditions
Torture
Ecuador
An Ecuadorian judge has ordered the Ombudsman’s Office to investigate alleged acts of torture by the military in several prisons in the country. The move comes under the state of emergency enacted by the government at the beginning of January to end a prison riot crisis.
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.