Information, topic by topic, on prisons across the world

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…

March 5, 2020

USA: el confinamiento en solitario prolongado en las cárceles equivale a tortura psicológica

News

North America Discipline Health Mental health Torture United States

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

February 11, 2020

Spain: el Comité de Prevención de la Tortura denuncia las condiciones de detención en comisarías y cárceles catalanas

News

Europe Torture Violence Spain

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

February 11, 2020

Mexico: una historia de tortura e impunidad por ministeriales en Chiapas

News

Central America and the Caribbean Torture Mexico

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

January 21, 2020

“Parodies of justice” in Iraq

Interview

Middle East Foreign prisoners Justice Death penalty Torture Violence Iraq

The Iraqi justice system has some flaws – quick trials, non-existent legal assistance and judgements based on confessions rather than the evidence. Yet several countries have declined to repatriate their citizens who are accused of terrorism, putting them at risk of torture or the death penalty.

January 15, 2020

USA: prison américaine de Guantanamo: 18 années d'un trou noir juridique continu

News

North America Torture Violence United States

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

December 27, 2019

China: inside Christmas card, a girl finds plea from Chinese prison laborers

News

Asia Torture Work China

A 6-year-old found the note in London while writing Christmas cards to her classmates. “Forced to work against our will,” the message read.

December 27, 2019

USA: a Guantánamo Bay detainee's drawings show the brutal CIA torture he endured at a secret US-run prison in Thailand

News

North America Torture United States

Abu Zubaydah was captured by US forces after a gun fight in Faisalabad, Pakistan, in March 2002. US officials incorrectly believed the Saudi Arabian citizen was a member of al-Qaida and transported him to a secret US-run prison, known as a black site, in Thailand.

December 18, 2019

Uzbekistan: Jaslyk – Uzbekistan’s infamous prison

News

Asia Torture Violence Uzbekistan

Journalist Muhammad Bekjanov was imprisoned in Jaslyk during the 18 years he spent in Uzbek jails. He speaks to Lucy Burns along with independent human rights observer Acacia Shields.

October 10, 2019

Brazil: el escándalo de torturas que Bolsonaro considera una “tontería” y Moro, “un “malentendido”

News

South America Torture Brazil

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

October 9, 2019

Venezuela: tortura en el reñidero de Maduro sobre detenidos desnudos en el suelo

News

South America Torture Venezuela

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

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…

September 21, 2019

China: "special project", torture and death in a prison

News

Asia Torture China

The city of Benxi in China’s Liaoning Province boasts a unique tourist attraction: the smallest lake in the world, measuring just 15 square meters. But there’s another aspect to Benxi that is nothing to be proud of—it is home to one of the most brutal prisons in the country, especially for Falun Go…

September 20, 2019

China: torture and death in a chinese prison

News

Asia Torture China

There’s another aspect to Benxi that is nothing to be proud of—it is home to one of the most brutal prisons in the country, especially for Falun Gong adherents.

September 12, 2019

India: human rights panel finds 91 prisoners with broken bones in Chennai prison

News

Asia Torture India

National human rights commission has ordered Rs 3 lakh compensation to one such victim and initiate criminal action on responsible officers.

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 20, 2019

Cameroon: Human Rights Watch dénonce la torture de détenus

News

Africa Torture Cameroon

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

August 9, 2019

Uganda: tortured in prison, Bizimana narrates his ordeal

News

Africa Torture Uganda

Frank Bizimana was deported on Tuesday having spent more than a year in a jail in Ntungamo where he was physically and physiologically tortured.

August 3, 2019

Venezuela: "Las puertas Bachelet", el nuevo método de tortura en las cárceles

News

South America Torture Venezuela

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

July 31, 2019

Venezuela: las cárceles, nidos de corrupción, torturas y muerte

News

South America Torture Violence Venezuela

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

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 5, 2019

United Kingdom: 'inhumane' : damning report on English and Welsh prisons

News

Europe Torture United Kingdom

Decline in safety, conditions and social needs still apparent says monitoring boards’ chair.

May 27, 2019

Russia: inmate dies in Russia after being tortured in "De Facto Murder," asctivists say

News

Asia Europe Torture Russia

An inmate has died in a Russian prison as a result of torture, activists have reported, in what they say was a “de facto murder.” Several leaked videos showing prisoner abuse over the past year have led to a mass outcry over torture and nationwide inspections to root out violence.