Information, topic by topic, on prisons across the world

October 10, 2019

Iran: a child of the gallows

Testimonial

Middle East Death penalty Iran

Homan was born in prison. Both his parents were executed. He then spent three years in prison. This is his story.

October 8, 2019

Syria: boys, men held in inhumane conditions

News

Middle East Torture Syria

A Kurdish-led armed group backed by the United States-led coalition against the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) is detaining thousands of Syrian and foreign men and boys in severely overcrowded informal detention centers in northeast Syria, Human Rights Watch said today.

October 7, 2019

Iran: Sepideh Qoliyan said she was tortured, now she’s serving an 18-year prison sentence

News

Middle East Torture Iran

Sepideh Qoliyan is currently serving an 18.6-year prison sentence in Iran’s Gharchak Prison for women after being arrested at workers’ rights protests in the city of Shush, Khuzestan Province, and publicly stating that she and fellow detainees had been tortured in the custody of the Intelligence Mi…

October 2, 2019

Saudi Arabia: un journaliste détenu 56 jours dans une prison saoudienne: "je me suis souvenu de Khashoggi et de la scie"

News

Middle East Saudi Arabia

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

September 1, 2019

Yemen: saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen kill more than 60 in prison, rebels say

News

Middle East Yemen

Airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen hit a university used as a detention center in a southwestern province on Sunday, killing at least 60 people, officials and the rebels’ health ministry said.

August 30, 2019

Iran: prisoners in Iran’s Gharchak prison for women protest inhumane living conditions

News

Women Middle East Material conditions Torture Iran

Two hundred inmates in Ward 5 of Gharchak Prison for women in the Iranian city of Varamin have sent an open letter to the head of the State Prisons Organization in Tehran Province protesting the prison’s inhumane living conditions.

August 25, 2019

Iran: family of murdered iranian prisoner demands prison officials be put on trial

News

Middle East Iran

The murder prompted protests and calls on social media for judiciary reform, citing the department’s incompetence.

August 23, 2019

Egypt: urgent investigation needed after death in notorious Al-Aqrab prison

News

Africa Middle East Violence Egypt

Egyptian authorities must urgently carry out an independent and impartial investigation into the death of Hossam Hamed, a 30-year-old prisoner being held at al-Aqrab prison, amid allegations that he was tortured.

August 6, 2019

Egypt: el agujero negro de la cárcel de Al Aqrab

News

Africa Middle East Egypt

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

July 31, 2019

Egypt: mass hunger strike at Al-Aqrab prison over denial of family visits and dire conditions

News

Africa Middle East Social ties Egypt

The Egyptian authorities must immediately end cruel and inhumane detention conditions and allow regular family visits at al-Aqrab maximum security prison in Tora where approximately 130 detainees have gone on a mass hunger strike for more than six weeks, said Amnesty International today.

July 31, 2019

Egypt: mass hunger strike in prison

News

Africa Middle East Egypt

About 130 inmates have been on hunger strike in an Egyptian prison for more than six weeks in protest at inhumane conditions and denial of family visits, according to Amnesty International.

July 10, 2019

Egypt: when doctors don't help: "medical negligence" in prison

News

Africa Middle East Egypt

Deliberately withholding medical treatment in Egyptian prisons and elsewhere amounts to torture, according to experts.

July 10, 2019

Egypt: detainees trapped in ‘revolving doors’ of prison system as authorities bypass release orders

News

Africa Middle East Egypt

The Egyptian authorities’ growing trend of re-imprisoning people who have been arbitrarily detained, instead of complying with court orders to release them is an alarming signal of how decayed the country’s justice system has become, said Amnesty International.

July 5, 2019

Iraq: rare photos shine light on "degrading" conditions in Iraqi jails

News

Middle East Material conditions Iraq

Concerns overcrowding at prisons for Isis suspects could fuel radicalisation.

June 30, 2019

Egypt: ‘Hospitals are for the dying’, medical negligence inside Egyptian prisons

News

Africa Middle East Egypt

Inside his prison cell, Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh’s health has severely deteriorated. The issue is not a new one. For years, local and international rights groups have repeatedly warned that conditions in Egypt’s prisons — especially access to health care — fell far below acceptable standards.

June 27, 2019

Syria: woman recalls regime torture, condition of women in prisons

News

Women Middle East Material conditions Torture Syria

Thousands of women across Syria have been subjected to torture under the custody of the Syrian regime, while about 128,000 civilians remain in detention.

June 7, 2019

He was arrested at 13. Now Saudi Arabia wants to execute him

News

Middle East Death penalty Violence Saudi Arabia

As a boy, Qureiris participated in demonstrations like this bike ride, expressions of dissent in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province during the 2011 Arab Spring. Three years after he was filmed taking part in the bike protest, Saudi authorities arrested Qureiris, then just 13 years old. He was travelin…

June 5, 2019

Syria: "Palmyre", chasser les fantômes

News

Middle East Syria

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

May 26, 2019

Syria: sortie de l'enfer des prisons syriennes, une mère aspire à une "nouvelle vie"

News

Middle East Syria

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

May 10, 2019

Lebanon’s interior minister pushes for prison reform amid calls for radical change

News

Middle East Lebanon

During an interview with the Lebanese paper L’Orient-Le Jour on Feb. 22, new Minister of Interior Raya al-Hassan stated that reforming Lebanon’s overcrowded and abuse-ridden prison system is high on her agenda.

May 8, 2019

Saudi Arabia: Saudi political prisoner dies in prison after medical treatment denied

News

Middle East Saudi Arabia

Saleh Abdelaziz el-Dhamiri, 60, suffered from heart problems and needed a new heart pump. He had spent over four years in isolation for his work in favour of Saudi political prisoners. In the past he had criticised the rise to power of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

March 25, 2019

Iran: human rights lawyer sentenced to 38 years in prison, her family says

News

Middle East Justice Iran

Prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been sentenced to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes, according to her family.

March 11, 2019

Iran says it has freed 51,000 prisoners

News

Middle East Iran

An official said 51,000 Iranian prisoners have so far been released under the recent clemency granted by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution’s victory.

February 18, 2019

Un avocat égyptien jeté en prison pour un gilet jaune

News

Africa Middle East Egypt

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