Middle East

March 18, 2020

Coronavirus: Prison Fever

News

Africa Coronavirus North America Central America and the Caribbean Pre-trial detention South America Asia Europe Middle East Material conditions Protest Activities

What measures are taken to guarantee the safety of all prisoners and prison staff? What are the consequences of the pandemic on the living conditions in prisons? Here is an overview. — Update 29/03/20 Read more

March 18, 2020

Iran: temporarily frees 54,000 prisoners to combat Coronavirus spread

News

Coronavirus Middle East Health Iran

Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili told reporters the inmates were allowed out of prison after testing negative for Covid-19 and posting bail. “Security prisoners” sentenced to more than five years will not be let out. The jailed British-Iranian charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe may be…

Source — BBC

Read more

February 12, 2020

Syria: dans une prison avec les jihadistes

News

Foreign prisoners Middle East Health Overcrowding

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

February 7, 2020

Turkey: we are not likely to be freed from prison before the outside world becomes free

News

Women Europe Middle East Activities Turkey

Arrested in Kandıra Type F Prison, former HDP Co-Chair Figen Yüksekdağ says that she has started playing a musical instrument in prison: “I make no claim in arts, my days in prison are turning into a lively and smooth life.”

Source — Bianet

Read more

February 5, 2020

Egypt: "Someone is sick guard", leaked audio

News

Africa Middle East Health Egypt

Inmates are kept in overcrowded, dirty cells without ventilation and are given insufficient food.

Source — Middle East Monitor

Read more

January 21, 2020

“Parodies of justice” in Iraq

Interview

Foreign prisoners Middle East Justice Death penalty Torture Violence Iraq

The Iraqi justice system has some flaws – quick trials, non-existent legal assistance and judgements based on confessions rather than the evidence. Yet several countries have declined to repatriate their citizens who are accused of terrorism, putting them at risk of torture or the death penalty. Read more

January 15, 2020

Turkey: déportations de prisonniers, la pratique courante

News

Europe Middle East Justice Turkey

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

January 15, 2020

Syria: "On dort l'un sur l'autre" : plongée au cœur d'une prison de jihadistes au Kurdistan syrien (vidéo)

News

Middle East Overcrowding Syria

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

January 3, 2020

Lebanon: indirect processes of radicalization at Lebanon’s Roumieh

News

Middle East Violence Religion Lebanon

Incarceration centers across the MENA region are known for their lawlessness and tendency to act as incubators for the reinforcement and hardening of ideologies and violent behaviors. Roumieh Prison in Lebanon is no exception.

Source — European Eye on Radicalisation

Read more

December 18, 2019

Turkey: prison population increases by 14 percent in one year

News

Minors Europe Middle East Justice Turkey

According to the “Prison Statistics 2018” of the TurkStat, prison population of Turkey has increased by 14 percent in one year. As of December 31, 2018, there were 264 thousand 842 people behind bars, the Institute has informed.

Source — Bianet

Read more

November 19, 2019

Turkey: Zehra Dogan : "Je suis moins heureuse qu'en prison"

News

Europe Middle East Turkey

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

November 12, 2019

Turkey: radicalisation en prison, l'ONU en quête de solutions

News

Europe Middle East Discipline Justice Mental health Rehabilitation Turkey

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

November 12, 2019

Egypt: mauvais traitements, les autorités tentent de convaincre les journalistes (en vain ?)

News

Africa Middle East Egypt

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

November 8, 2019

Egypt: "credible evidence" that "brutal" prison conditions prompted Morsi’s death, thousands more at risk

News

Africa Middle East Material conditions Egypt

A group of independent UN human rights experts said on Friday that there was “credible evidence” that inadequate prison conditions in which former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was held may have led “directly” to his death in June, and thousands of other detainees may be at “severe risk”.

Source — UN News

Read more

November 7, 2019

Yemen: un site de Total utilisé comme prison

News

Middle East Yemen

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

November 4, 2019

Jihadistes détenus en Syrie : "Au lieu d'organiser une justice, on met ce problème dans un étouffoir"

News

Middle East Syria

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

October 29, 2019

Syria: bursting at the seams: inside an IS prison

News

Middle East Syria

Hasakeh province (Syria) (AFP) - Behind the steel door, the cell is as packed as their eyes are empty – haggard, scrawny prisoners in orange jumpsuits lying head-to-toe cover every inch of floor space.

Source — Le Monde

Read more

October 29, 2019

Syria: cómo es la prisión kurda donde están encerrados miles de terroristas del Estado Islámico

News

Middle East Discipline Material conditions Protest Religion Syria

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

October 23, 2019

Yemen: detainees start hunger strike in UAE prison in Aden

News

Middle East Yemen

Detainees have started a hunger strike at a UAE prison in the Yemeni city of Aden, in protest against their non-release despite obtaining a previous decision on the matter.

Source — Middle East Monitor

Read more

October 10, 2019

Turkey: prison board not have authority to block letters on rights violations according the Constitutional Court

News

Europe Middle East Turkey

Two inmates’ letters to parliamentarians on rights violations in the prison were not sent by the prison administration.

Source — Bianet

Read more

October 10, 2019

Iran: a child of the gallows

Testimonial

Middle East Death penalty Iran

Homan was born in prison. Both his parents were executed. He then spent three years in prison. This is his story. Read more

October 8, 2019

Syria: boys, men held in inhumane conditions

News

Middle East Torture Syria

A Kurdish-led armed group backed by the United States-led coalition against the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) is detaining thousands of Syrian and foreign men and boys in severely overcrowded informal detention centers in northeast Syria, Human Rights Watch said today.

Source — Human Rights Watch

Read more

October 7, 2019

Turkey: Loup Bureau, une plume libre dans une prison

News

Europe Middle East Turkey

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

October 7, 2019

Iran: Sepideh Qoliyan said she was tortured, now she’s serving an 18-year prison sentence

News

Middle East Torture Iran

Sepideh Qoliyan is currently serving an 18.6-year prison sentence in Iran’s Gharchak Prison for women after being arrested at workers’ rights protests in the city of Shush, Khuzestan Province, and publicly stating that she and fellow detainees had been tortured in the custody of the Intelligence Ministry.

Source — Center For Human Rights

Read more