Information, topic by topic, on prisons across the world

March 16, 2023

Australia: Queensland judge to receive apology after department refused to detail confinement of boy

News

Minors Oceania Justice Australia

The public servant in charge of Queensland’s youth detention system has apologised for a government department’s refusal to provide the children’s court with information related to the prolonged solitary confinement of a boy, 13, with developmental disorders. The judgment, reported by Guardian Aust…

Source — The Guardian

January 24, 2023

Turkey: 520 children under the age of six in prison with their mothers

News

Minors Middle East Turkey

According to main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmaker Sezgin Tanrıkulu, thousands of women were unlawfully jailed in the aftermath of a coup attempt on July 15, 2016 due to their alleged links to the Gülen movement. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been targeting followers…

Source — Stockholm Center for Freedom

January 24, 2023

Egypt: 22 minors sentenced to lengthy prison terms

News

Minors Middle East Justice Egypt

An Egyptian court on Sunday sentenced 22 children to lengthy prison sentences ranging between five and 15 years over rare anti-government protests that took place across the country four years ago. The charges brought against the defendants included posting videos on YouTube calling for the protest…

Source — Middle East Eye

January 9, 2023

Canada: double bind for incarcerated minors

Interview

Minors Facilities Rehabilitation Canada

Nicolas Sallée spent several months in a secure unit in Montreal, Quebec, where young people in conflict with the law are housed under supervision. Narratives and questions about the contradictions of the place emerged. Interview. Read more

November 23, 2022

Togo: harsh detention conditions for children

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. Read more

September 5, 2022

Syrie : des experts de l'ONU consternés par la mort d'un jeune australien dans un centre de détention

News

Minors Middle East Syria

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

July 13, 2022

Guinea: child victims of “punitive justice”

Interview

Africa Minors Access to legal rights Justice Guinea

Nordine Drici is a historian and legal expert on prisoners’ rights. He wrote an overview of the penitentiary situation in Guinea, examining access to justice in the country. This expert evaluation formed part of a training programme (under the RESPECT project) that he provided for Lawyers Without B… Read more

May 18, 2022

USA: inside the kids’ cells

Interview

North America Minors Material conditions United States

They are 60,000. Who? The minors incarcerated in America’s prisons. Richard Ross is a photographer. His ‘Juvenile in Justice’ work has been giving them a voice for the past two decades. Read more

May 17, 2022

USA: "This is the real Miami"

Insights Focus

North America Minors Justice United States

Richard Ross has been working on incarcerated minors for almost two decades. He is commenting a picture which encapsulates his commitment to this subject. A picture to tell what the country is doing with his youth. Read more

February 21, 2022

Syrie : une dizaine de mineurs français dans la prison attaquée par l’EI

News

Minors Middle East Syria

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

January 25, 2022

France: "I don’t believe in powerlessness"

Interview

Coronavirus Pre-trial detention Minors Mental health Material conditions Overcrowding France

The Controller-General for Places of Deprivation of Liberty feels ‘useful everywhere’. One year after taking office, Dominique Simonnot responds to our questions in a candid interview. Read more

January 18, 2022

Years in the Row

Analysis Comparative study

Africa Women Asia Minors Europe Foreign prisoners Discipline Health Mental health Drugs Material conditions Overcrowding Death penalty Torture

Some people fear death every morning. Others are sentenced to death in countries that no longer carry out executions. At least 483 executions were documented in 2020. Prison Insider publishes an overview of practices in nine countries that have not abolished the death penalty. Read more

January 17, 2022

Comoros: “The walls are crumbling by themselves”

Testimonial

Africa Minors Overcrowding Violence Comoros

Chamoun was incarcerated at Moroni Prison in Comoros. He tells us about the dilapidation, the starvation, the debauchery, and the violence. Read more

January 10, 2022

Cuba: Cuban mothers denounce government for holding minors in prison for protesting

News

Central America and the Caribbean Minors Cuba

Yudinela Castro has seen her son eight times in the past six months, but in a subdued voice says she would have preferred not to have seen him. “It would have been better not to have visited him in prison, because he came out full of scabies, with a bad smell and a hellish color. He had not been ab…

Source — NBC News

October 7, 2021

Global Prison Trends 2021

Report

Africa Coronavirus Women Asia Minors Europe Middle East Oceania Health Material conditions Overcrowding Death penalty

More than eleven million people are imprisoned around the world. Of this number, 70% are awaiting trial, a percentage that has been continuously increasing since 2000.

Source — Penal Reform International

July 22, 2021

Myanmar : les tribunaux de la junte ont prononcé 65 condamnations à mort

News

Women Asia Minors Protest Death penalty Torture Myanmar (Burma)

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

June 23, 2021

South Africa: large number of juveniles in SA prison system a cause for concern

News

Africa Pre-trial detention Minors Activities Rehabilitation South Africa

The Judicial Inspectorate Correctional Services (Jics) issued statistics stating that as of May 31, there were 55 children in remand detention, 3 105 juveniles awaiting trial, 42 children sentenced and 1 503 juveniles sentenced. Jics spokesperson Emerantia Cupido said between 2019 and 2020 there we…

Source — IOL

June 23, 2021

Kenya: children in prison with their mothers – not their crime yet their sentence

News

Africa Women Minors Material conditions Social ties Kenya

Of particular note are the children who accompany their mothers to prison. According to the Kenyan constitution, Persons Deprived of Liberty Act (2014), mothers in prison are allowed to have their children accompany them until they attain the age of 4 years. While the constitution has done well to…

Source — Standard media

March 1, 2021

Bielorrusia: las autoridades atacan a menores de edad para reprimir la disidencia

News

Pre-trial detention Minors Europe Protest Violence Belarus

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

February 15, 2021

Arabia Saudí: la conmutación de la pena de muerte impuesta a tres activistas chiíes detenidos cuando eran adolescentes, un avance positivo

News

Minors Middle East Justice Death penalty Saudi Arabia

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

February 10, 2021

Iran: hell in south Tehran, juvenile prisoners speak out

News

Minors Middle East Access to legal rights Material conditions Violence Iran

“The situation is terrible. The water is undrinkable, the washing facilities are faulty, and bathroom breaks are rationed. There’s hot water for half an hour a day. The ward is dirty and full to bursting. A ladleful of lentils and stones, and frozen rotten sausages, is all we get to eat. There are…

Source — Iranwire

January 4, 2021

Irán: detengan la ejecución de un joven arrestado a los 16 años y obligado a “confesar” bajo tortura

News

Minors Middle East Access to legal rights Justice Protest Death penalty Torture Violence Iran

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

January 4, 2021

China: jóvenes de Hong Kong en peligro de tortura tras su sentencia condenatoria en un juicio injusto

News

Asia Minors Access to legal rights Justice Protest Torture Violence China

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

January 4, 2021

Chine : jusqu'à trois ans de prison pour les HongKongais arrêtés en mer

News

Asia Minors Access to legal rights Justice Protest China

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