Access to legal rights
DRC: detention conditions of people sentenced to death
Analysis
Comparative study
Africa
Access to legal rights
Material conditions
Death penalty
Torture
Social ties
Congo - Kinshasa
Since 2003, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has observed a de facto moratorium on executions. The authorities do not release any information regarding the application of the death penalty in the country.
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Mauritania: detention conditions of people sentenced to death
Analysis
Comparative study
Africa
Access to legal rights
Material conditions
Death penalty
Torture
Social ties
Mauritania
Mauritania has a moratorium on executions. Figures about the prisoners sentenced to death are scarce, as is information on their detention conditions. These prisoners are under the same detention regime as the rest of the prison population.
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Belarus: detention conditions of people sentenced to death
Analysis
Comparative study
Europe
Access to legal rights
Material conditions
Death penalty
Torture
Social ties
Belarus
Belarus is the only European country where the death penalty is applied. Data relating to death sentences and executions are confidential. The time between trial and execution is very short. The country has been condemned several times for failing to respect the right to a fair trial.
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Japan: detention conditions of people sentenced to death
Analysis
Comparative study
Asia
Access to legal rights
Material conditions
Death penalty
Torture
Social ties
Japan
No executions were recorded in Japan in 2020, for the first time since 2011. Reportedly, more than 25% of people sentenced to death are over the age of 70 and two of them have been incarcerated for over 40 years.
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Indonesia: detention conditions of people sentenced to death
Analysis
Comparative study
Asia
Access to legal rights
Material conditions
Death penalty
Torture
Social ties
Indonesia
No execution has been recorded since 2016. The number of sentences, however, has been on the rise. Since 2014, Indonesia has increased its efforts in the war on drugs after Indonesian President Widodo described it as a “national emergency”.
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Cameroon: detention conditions of people sentenced to death
Analysis
Comparative study
Africa
Access to legal rights
Material conditions
Death penalty
Torture
Social ties
Cameroon
Since 2014, an anti-terrorism law has led to a sharp increase in death sentences in Cameroon. Official data is lacking and is sometimes inconsistent with figures published by civil society organisations.
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Pakistan: detention conditions of people sentenced to death
Analysis
Comparative study
Asia
Access to legal rights
Material conditions
Death penalty
Torture
Social ties
Pakistan
In 2015, Pakistan accounted for 20% of executions worldwide. However, 2020 saw a suspension of executions and a decline in sentences. Currently, there are more than 4,000 prisoners sentenced to death awaiting execution.
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Malaysia: detention conditions of people sentenced to death
Comparative study
Asia
Access to legal rights
Material conditions
Death penalty
Torture
Social ties
Malaysia
In 2018, Malaysia had a change in government for the first time since its independence. The new administration has committed to abolishing the death penalty for all crimes. Malaysia has had a moratorium on executions since this date.
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India: detention conditions of people sentenced to death
Analysis
Comparative study
Asia
Access to legal rights
Material conditions
Death penalty
Torture
Social ties
India
Most prisoners sentenced to death in India have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment during their judicial process. This can take several years given the duration of the procedures.
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Chile: Derecho a voto en las cárceles
News
South America
Access to legal rights
Chile
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: Spanish
Switzerland: walling up madness
Analysis
Comparative study
Europe
Access to legal rights
Discipline
Mental health
Drugs
Material conditions
Switzerland
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
Spain: walling up madness
Analysis
Comparative study
Europe
Access to legal rights
Discipline
Mental health
Drugs
Material conditions
Spain
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
England and Wales: walling up madness
Analysis
Comparative study
Europe
Access to legal rights
Discipline
Mental health
Drugs
Material conditions
United Kingdom
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
Pre-trial detention
Middle East
Access to legal rights
Health
Torture
Violence
Iraq
Torture and ill treatment are prohibited under international law. Iraq ratified the international convention against Torture in 2011 and since has enacted national laws criminalizing torture.
The problem is the government has not implemented the procedural safeguards to prevent torture, and so the1
Source — VOA news
Read more Chile: radiografía de la visita conyugal
News
Women
South America
Access to legal rights
Social ties
Chile
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: Spanish
Ecuador: beneficios de prelibertad a favor de los presos tardan en otorgarse
News
South America
Access to legal rights
Justice
Alternatives
Ecuador
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: Spanish
Coronavirus
Pre-trial detention
Asia
Access to legal rights
Justice
Myanmar (Burma)
Since March, the junta has set up temporary courts inside prisons in Yangon and elsewhere in the country to hear the cases of political prisoners, most of whom are charged with incitement under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code.
“The trials were suspended as of Tuesday. There are around 13,000 peopl1
Source — The Irrawaddy
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Chine : au sein du Parti communiste chinois, des pouvoirs de police discrétionnaires
News
Pre-trial detention
Asia
Access to legal rights
Justice
China
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
North America
Pre-trial detention
Foreign prisoners
Access to legal rights
Justice
Violence
Canada
Canada incarcerates thousands of people, including those with disabilities, on immigration-related grounds every year in often abusive conditions, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said today in a joint report ahead of World Refugee Day on June 20.
The 100-page report, “I Didn’t Feel Lik1
Source — Human rights watch
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Madagascar : The right to health must not be "forgotten behind bars"
Analysis
Opinion
Access to legal rights
Health
Mental health
Overcrowding
Madagascar
ICPR and Prison Insider asked several experts worldwide to share their insights in the framework of the project ‘Understanding and reducing the use of imprisonment in 10 countries’. Tamara Léger draws on her previous research experience to highlight the severe impact of prison overcrowding on healt1
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United States: there’s an aging crisis in New York’s prisons and we need to solve it
Analysis
Opinion
North America
Elderly prisoners
Long-term prisoners
Access to legal rights
Health
United States
ICPR and Prison Insider asked several experts worldwide to share their insights in the framework of the project ‘Understanding and reducing the use of imprisonment in 10 countries’. Rodney Holcombe, New York State Director for Criminal Justice Reform, addresses the New York prison system and the it1
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Africa: a regional campaign to decriminalise petty offences
Analysis
Opinion
Africa
Access to legal rights
Justice
Overcrowding
ICPR and Prison Insider asked several experts worldwide to share their insights in the framework of the project ‘Understanding and reducing the use of imprisonment in 10 countries’. Louise Edwards reflects on the works and challenges of the regional campaign to decriminalise petty offences.
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Africa
Pre-trial detention
Access to legal rights
Justice
Material conditions
Niger
On April 6, members of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) embarked on an indefinite strike over some states’ refusal to grant judiciary autonomy and financial independence.
This has led to a nationwide shut down of courts in Nigeria which stalled criminal and civil trials across the count1
Source — Politics
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North America
Access to legal rights
Justice
United States
Mumia Abu-Jamal is a 66-year-old former journalist incarcerated in a Pennsylvania state prison for the 1981 shooting death of Officer Daniel Faulkner.
“We’re not asking for no apologies. We’re not asking for no investigation, because neither one will mean anything,” said Janine Africa during an Apr1
Source — Billy Penn
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