Justice
Europe
Justice
Material conditions
Protest
Overcrowding
Italy
Prisoners in the northern Italian city of Parma are on hunger strike over poor sanitation and overcrowding, the latest in a spate of protests in the country’s jails where cases of suicide and self-harm are at an all-time high. Giorgia Meloni’s hard-right government has responded by threatening to m…
Africa
Crises
Asia
Europe
Middle East
Access to legal rights
Justice
Material conditions
Facilities
Torture
Alice Jill Edwards was the first woman to be appointed as UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Prison Insider met with her to find out more about what she has to say to justice systems and prison administrations around the world.
Africa
Access to legal rights
Justice
Social ties
Kenya
Prisoners held in custody have been granted the right to attend the funerals of their close family members, unless compelling reasons dictate otherwise. The ruling was made in a case by former journalist Moses Dola, who is serving a 10-year prison sentence since 2018.
Asia
Justice
Material conditions
Violence
Russia
Russia’s most significant opposition leader for the past decade, Alexei Navalny, has died in an Arctic Circle jail, the prison service has said. President Vladimir Putin’s most vociferous critic, he was serving 19 years on extremism charges that were widely seen as politically motivated.
South America
Justice
Material conditions
Torture
Ecuador
An Ecuadorian judge has ordered the Ombudsman’s Office to investigate alleged acts of torture by the military in several prisons in the country. The move comes under the state of emergency enacted by the government at the beginning of January to end a prison riot crisis.
Asia
Justice
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Torture
Pakistan
Pakistan’s prisons remain terribly overcrowded and under-resourced, and nascent efforts at progressive reform are stymied by ingrained attitudes of discrimination, including against religious and ethnic minorities.
North America
Justice
Material conditions
Canada
Over the past year, records indicate that at least 24 offenders had their incarceration time reduced due to frequent lockdowns, pest infestations, and other harsh treatment at the Toronto South Detention Centre in Etobicoke, near Kipling Avenue and the Gardiner Expressway.
Asia
Justice
Material conditions
Rehabilitation
India
The Telangana Congress government should review prison practices for a fair and transparent system that promotes prisoners’ reintegration.
Middle East
Justice
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Israel
The Knesset National Security Committee voted unanimously to extend Israel’s “incarceration emergency” until mid-January, allowing the country’s correctional system to continue housing prisoners in what would otherwise be considered illegally cramped conditions.
North America
Justice
Health
United States
Antonio Arnez Smith was granted medical furlough in September but was not released to his family until October. He died four days later.
North America
Justice
Material conditions
United States
A tentative settlement in the amount of $4 million was presented on Thursday with regard to a class action lawsuit alleging inhumane living conditions and unethical treatment incurred by inmates at Southern Regional Jail.
Africa
Access to legal rights
Justice
Death penalty
Nigeria
Bodies canvassing for the abolishment of death penalty for capital offenders in the country have commenced comprehensive training for Nigerian lawyers to increase their commitment to pro bono legal services.