Interview
Africa
Asia
Europe
Oceania
Justice
In March 2023, formerly incarcerated people from around the globe met at the Incarceration Nations Network (INN) hub in Cape Town for the first edition of the Global Freedom Fellowship. Khalil Chait, who spent 10 years in prison in the Netherlands, was one of them. Interview.
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Ireland: adverse motherhood experience
Interview
Women
Europe
Social ties
Rehabilitation
Ireland
The number of women incarcerated throughout the world is steadily increasing. Many of these are mothers. What is the impact of mothers’ imprisonment? The IPRT recently examined the experiences of mothers imprisoned in Ireland and of their children. Interview.
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USA: disaster in prison
Interview
North America
Facilities
Work
United States
J. Carlee Purdum is the director of the Prisons and Disasters Risk Network, which aims to inform the public about the growing impact of disasters on prisoners. She discusses with us how prison labour is embedded in emergency disaster response. Interview.
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Côte d'Ivoire: a game-changing assist
Interview
Africa
Health
Activities
Rehabilitation
Côte d’Ivoire
Does sport improve living conditions and help prisoners reintegrate into society? That is the hope of the organisation La Balle aux Prisonniers (LaBAP). Its founders are convinced that sport can be a vehicle for social inclusion, integration and equal opportunity. Interview.
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Is dynamic security a realistic utopia?
Interview
Building bridges through education
Interview
South America
Europe
Activities
Alternatives
Rehabilitation
Many initiatives are emerging as alternatives to the traditional prison, focusing on education rather than security. What is meant by education? How does it lead to change? Sergio Grossi answers our questions.
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Belgium: "a key voice"
Interview
Europe
Justice
Health
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Belgium
Marc Nève is a lawyer and President of the Central Prison Monitoring Council in Belgium. He sat down with us to discuss the work of the Council, as well as the main issues facing the Belgian prison system today. Interview.
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Filming the obscurity
Interview
Africa
Asia
Europe
Facilities
Overcrowding
Violence
Rehabilitation
The Netflix documentary series “Inside the World’s Toughest Prisons” gives viewers a visual representation of what daily life is like for prisoners around the world. Prison Insider met its host, Raphael Rowe. Interview.
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Germany: neither incarcerated nor free
Interview
Belgium: a tough journey
Interview
Europe
Health
Mental health
Drugs
Belgium
Prisons often act as a conduit for worsening drug use, yet prisoners are confronted with numerous barriers when trying to access help.Ambulatoire Forest discussed its psychosocial support programme specifically designed for offenders struggling with substance use.
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Switzerland: detect, treat and support
Interview
France: beyond the stigma
Interview
Europe
Discipline
Health
Mental health
Drugs
France
They are banned, but present nonetheless; denying the presence of illicit substances inside prison walls is dangerous from a medical and health point of view. Doctors of the World explained its approach.
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France: drugs in prison, an open secret
Interview
France: on camera
Interview
Central America and the Caribbean
Activities
Rehabilitation
France
Basse-Terre prison in Guadeloupe provides prisoner rehabilitation programmes. Film director Mark Alexandre Montout visited the prison to film a cookery competition. Interview.
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Ukraine: 107 Mothers
Interview
Russia: prisoners of the battlefield
Interview
Europe
Violence
Russia
The conflict in Ukraine also impacts the individuals incarcerated in Russia. Many of them have been recruited by the Wagner Group over the past few months to participate in the fighting. Dmitry Gurin from EPLN shared with us what they know about this recruitment campaign.
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Canada: bringing law into prisons
Interview
France: "a change of tactics"
Interview
Europe
Justice
Material conditions
Facilities
Overcrowding
Alternatives
France
In 2020, the French government was found to have violated the European Convention on Human Rights, due to demeaning detention conditions in French prisons. What is the state of affairs today? The National Human Rights Advisory Commission speaks on the issue.
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USA: the Holmesburg prison experiments
Interview
Africa
Coronavirus
Pre-trial detention
Minors
Access to legal rights
Health
Material conditions
Social ties
Togo
What is the response to offences committed by minors? In many cases, it is detention. Civil society actors express concern over the situation of minors in conflict with the law. Three key questions shed light on this issue.
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Africa
Culture
Asia
Europe
Middle East
Access to legal rights
Justice
Health
Drugs
Overcrowding
Rehabilitation
Dr. Dreisinger is the founder of the Incarceration Nations Network (INN), an international community that works to support, instigate and popularize prison reform efforts around the world. Prison Insider met her in Lyon during a joint screening of the docuseries. We asked her three questions in a v…
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Pakistan: submerged and forgotten
Interview
Asia
Access to legal rights
Health
Material conditions
Pakistan
Pakistan experienced torrential rains between June and September 2022. The floods submerged a third of the country. What about prisons? Zainab Mahboob and Fakhra Irshad from Justice Project Pakistan shared with us what they know about the current situation. Interview.
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