Social ties
Crises
Middle East
Health
Mental health
Protest
Social ties
Iran
Three women political prisoners in Tehran’s Evin prison have gone on hunger and medicine strikes to protest their conditions and treatment.
Central America and the Caribbean
Health
Material conditions
Torture
Violence
Social ties
Nicaragua
“It was an ordeal I thought would never end,” says Jose Enrique Sanchez, one of the 135 political prisoners exiled on September 5th to Guatemala by the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. “We lived in precarious conditions,” “we endured psychological torture,” “threats to our familie…
Morocco: archaic sentencing
Interview
Africa
Justice
Mental health
Death penalty
Social ties
Morocco
Morocco has just celebrated 30 years of its death penalty moratorium, yet its courts continue to hand down death penalties. Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM), along with its partners, conducted a new fact-finding mission on the impact of the death penalty in Moroccan prisons. Interview.
North America
Material conditions
Social ties
United States
Connecticut families brought an end to expensive prison communication, providing a lifeline for the voices behind bars. But consistent contact still isn’t guaranteed.
Europe
Access to legal rights
Justice
Health
Protest
Overcrowding
Social ties
Turkey
The “2022-2023 Prison Rights Violations Report” highlights systemic human rights abuses in Turkish prisons, revealing a disturbing trend of political repression and isolation practices, particularly concerning the treatment of political prisoners, including Abdullah Öcalan.
Türkiye: prisons in 2024
Analysis
Pre-trial detention
Women
Europe
Minors
Foreign prisoners
LGBTQI
Long-term prisoners
Mental health
Material conditions
Facilities
Suicide
Torture
Activities
Social ties
Alternatives
Work
Turkey
All there is to know about Turkish prisons in 2024. Key figures, life in detention, references: discover all the data gathered by Prison Insider.
Türkiye: lawyers in danger
Interview
Europe
Access to legal rights
Justice
Social ties
Turkey
The Anti-Terror Law is used by the State to imprison lawyers who defend opponents. The Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD) has been specifically targeted on several occasions. One of its members, Güçlü Sevimli, explains why and under what conditions they are being held.
North America
Activities
Social ties
United States
There is growing recognition among prison leaders that children are also affected by incarceration. Some prisons are looking for ways to build and maintain family ties during incarceration.
North America
Access to legal rights
Social ties
United States
A pair of lawsuits filed this month claim that two county jails in Michigan banned in-person family visits for inmates several years ago as a way to boost county revenues from the increased number of phone calls and electronic messaging that resulted.
Women
Europe
Justice
Health
Social ties
United Kingdom
Pregnant women are now less likely to be sent to prison under new guidelines which will force courts to consider how jail time affects a woman who is either due to give birth or has recently had a baby.
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.
Far from loved ones
Inside Outside
Africa
North America
South America
Asia
Europe
Middle East
Social ties
Prison Insider, represented by Clara Grisot, contributed twelve compositions to the book InsideOutside to articulate, in a few words, the current challenges of prison life. Second piece: maintaining bonds.
Europe
Material conditions
Social ties
United Kingdom
According to the Prison Service, all 92 closed public-sector prisons in England and Wales will be fully fitted with phones by February 24.
Middle East
Material conditions
Social ties
Turkey
“Due to economic reasons and the exorbitant prices set by PTT, I am sending this letter through regular mail. I hope it reaches you intact and without censorship. Sending guaranteed letters such as registered or APS has become economically challenging,” says a prisoner.
South Africa: prisons in 2023
Analysis
Africa
Pre-trial detention
Women
Minors
Foreign prisoners
LGBTQI
Long-term prisoners
Mental health
Material conditions
Facilities
Suicide
Death penalty
Torture
Activities
Social ties
Alternatives
Work
South Africa
All there is to know about South African prisons in 2023. Key figures, life in detention, references: discover all the data gathered by Prison Insider.
France: rediscovering one’s image
Insights
Focus
Facilities
Social ties
Rehabilitation
Work
France
In 2011, photographer Béatrice Ropers visited Ferme de Moyembrie, an agricultural facility that takes in men nearing the end of their sentences. As the seasons changed, the subjects of her photographs shared their life stories, feelings and fears. She told us the story of one of her photographs.
DRC: tackling the death penalty head-on
Interview
Africa
Material conditions
Death penalty
Torture
Social ties
Congo - Kinshasa
The death penalty is still in force in the DRC. Death sentences continue to be imposed despite a de facto moratorium on executions. ACAT-DRC is performing long-running advocacy work to achieve abolition. Interview.
Canada: close to ordinary violence
Testimonial
North America
Mental health
Violence
Social ties
Canada
Olivia* supports a close schizophrenic friend through his life sentence. She recounts the time spent helping him and understanding his illness. She reveals the shortcomings of the penal system as well as the violence perpetrated by prison staff.
Panama: fighting for my life
Testimonial
Central America and the Caribbean
Women
Health
Material conditions
Social ties
Panama
Yonta J. was incarcerated in a Panamanian prison for three years, from March 2015 to January 2018. She faced hardships that still impact her life today. This is the story of her daily life in prison.