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.…

April 30, 2020

Cyprus: released inmates ask to go back to prison

News

Coronavirus Europe Rehabilitation Work Cyprus

Four prisoners who were released from prison earlier this month have asked to be brought back because they have no place to go. Nicosia central prisons director Anna Aristotelous said on Wednesday that two of the four prisoners were part of the early release of 130 inmates in early April as part of…

April 30, 2020

Belgium: locked-up outside

Investigations Testimonial

Europe Long-term prisoners Rehabilitation Belgium

How does someone truly become free? Marcus spent his childhood in a children’s home before serving more than 20 years in prison. He has never known anything other than confinement.

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

USA: what data exists about Native American people in the criminal justice system?

News

North America United States

Problems with data collection - and an unfortunate tendency to group Native Americans together with other ethnic and racial groups in data publications - have made it hard to understand the effect of mass incarceration on Native people. The scarcity of data on Native Americans in the U.S. criminal…

April 24, 2020

South Africa: plans under way to remove babies of offenders from East London prison after Covid-19 outbreak

News

Africa Coronavirus Women Minors South Africa

The correctional services department is making plans for babies of two offenders at an East London female prison to be taken to their mothers’ families after cases of Covid-19 at the correctional facility. There are 26 confirmed coronavirus cases at the East London Correctional Centre. Three are in…

April 24, 2020

USA: inmates at N.J. women’s prison endured years of sex abuse, justice dept. finds

News

North America Women Violence United States

WASHINGTON — Inmates at New Jersey’s only state prison for women were regularly sexually assaulted by guards and sometimes forced to engage in sex acts with other prisoners while staff members looked on, according to a Justice Department report released on Monday detailing widespread, pervasive sex…

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 24, 2020

Nigeria: 70% of Nigerian prisoners held without trial

News

Africa Coronavirus Pre-trial detention Nigeria

At least three-quarters of Nigeria’s total prison population are inmates serving time without being sentenced, the Nigerian Correctional Service said this on Thursday. The head of the agency, Ja’afaru Ahmed, 51,983 inmates are awaiting trial out of the prison’s total population of 73, 726 inmates.…

April 24, 2020

Greece: reforming prison system and ending police ill-treatment are urgent priorities, says CPT

News

Europe Material conditions Overcrowding Violence Greece

After a visit to prisons in Greece last year, the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) recommends that the Greek authorities remedy structural problems that have led to enduring ill-treatment of detainees, prison overcrow…

April 23, 2020

Spain: las videollamadas llegan a las cárceles

News

Coronavirus Europe Material conditions Social ties Spain

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

April 23, 2020

Argentina: no hay tobilleras para todos los que reciben la domiciliaria

News

Coronavirus South America Argentina

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

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

USA: el miedo al coronavirus en las cárceles provoca huelgas de hambre, protestas y motines

News

Coronavirus North America Protest United States

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

April 23, 2020

Argentina: coronavirus y cárceles, tensión en la Cámara de Casación Penal

News

Coronavirus South America Justice Argentina

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

April 23, 2020

Spain: las familias de los presos ante la situación de las cárceles por la Covid-19: "ahora la condena es para nosotros”

News

Coronavirus Europe Social ties Spain

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

April 23, 2020

Colombia: la situación en las cárceles sigue sin solución

News

Coronavirus South America Justice Colombia

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