Testimonials
Testimonials
Prison Insider invites witnesses to shout out, to describe their sadness and share their joys. We invite stories of resistance and want to provide a space where the silent voices of prisoners can be heard
France: in search of meaning
Testimonial
Women
Europe
Activities
Social ties
Religion
France
Sakina is a Muslim chaplain in prison. She guides female prisoners in their religious practice. Ramadan, daily organiszation, work on self-esteem… She tells us all about it
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Algeria: a month (almost) like any other
Testimonial
Africa
Material conditions
Torture
Religion
Algeria
Rachid M. was imprisoned in El-Harrach and then Tizi Ouzou between 1996 and 1999. He tells us about conditions in prison, visits and Ramadan.
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Sunny Jacobs: Life Outside
Testimonial
North America
Death penalty
Social ties
Rehabilitation
Work
United States
How is life after release? Sunny Jacobs was sentenced to death and spent seventeen years in detention for a crime she did not commit. She tells Prison Insider about the many challenges one faces upon release. She now works actively towards the abolition of the death penalty.
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Sunny Jacobs: Life Beyond
Testimonial
North America
Mental health
Death penalty
Religion
United States
How can you escape prison with your mind? Sunny Jacobs was sentenced to death and spent seventeen years in detention for a crime she did not commit. She tells Prison Insider how yoga, meditation and prayer helped her find freedom behind prison walls.
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Sunny Jacobs: Life Inside
Testimonial
North America
Mental health
Material conditions
Death penalty
Activities
United States
What is daily life on death row like? Sunny Jacobs was sentenced to death and spent seventeen years in detention for a crime she did not commit. She tells Prison Insider about her detention conditions and the burden of complete isolation.
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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.
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Burkina Faso: Humiliation of LGBTQI+ Prisoners
Testimonial
Africa
LGBTI
Material conditions
Torture
Violence
Burkina Faso
LGBTQI+ prisoners are sometimes deprived of food and water while incarcerated.
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Roland: “Great. This again.”
Testimonial
Coronavirus
Health
Facilities
Rehabilitation
France
Roland was imprisoned for a total of 28 years. Is the lockdown a second imprisonment? Prison Insider has brought out six narratives of former prisoners. Six perspectives on the lockdown and imprisonment.
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Rejection of LGBTQI+ people in Burkina Faso
Testimonial
Africa
Pre-trial detention
LGBTI
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Violence
Burkina Faso
Karel tells us about detention conditions in Ouagadougou’s central police station and the treatment of incarcerated LGBTQI+ individuals.
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Niger: the cost of living
Testimonial
Africa
Pre-trial detention
Health
Material conditions
Facilities
Overcrowding
Violence
Niger
Two prisoners attest to their conditions in overpopulated prisons. A way to survive: pay, every month, for access to better prison conditions.
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Culture
Europe
Long-term prisoners
Activities
United Kingdom
“Being encased within steel and mortar shouldn’t alter the fundamental essence of a human being. Amid the brutality and apathy of the prison system, some find the ability to be creative” (Steeldoorstudios exposes the challenges of the creative process in prison.)
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Europe
Material conditions
Work
Switzerland
Georges was incarcerated for 12 months in the prison of Fribourg while awaiting sentencing. He recounts how a day in prison unfolds.
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North America
Long-term prisoners
Mental health
United States
Kyle H. has been incarcerated since 2001 and is serving a life sentence. He is held at River North Correctional Center in the state of Virginia. He bravely tells how an ordinary day goes by, when voices cannot stop, and when he becomes a stranger to himself.
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Cuba: Humiliation non-stop
Testimonial
Central America and the Caribbean
Foreign prisoners
Access to legal rights
Justice
Health
Material conditions
Torture
Cuba
Jacques was arrested in February 2017 by the Cuban criminal justice system and was immediately incarcerated in a state owned highly secured prison, held incommunicado for 48 days. Her daughter became fatherless overnight.
He was transferred to France in September 2019. He narrates to Prison Insider…
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USA: a nation of prisons and pandemics
Testimonial
Coronavirus
North America
Health
Overcrowding
United States
The United States Penitentiary Canaan holds about 1,300 people. Qwantay A. is one of them. He has been incarcerated for 16 years and will be released in 2034. He drew some parallels between the coronavirus pandemic and mass incarceration, and shared his thoughts with Prison Insider.
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France: "They’ve put us back in prison"
Testimonial
Coronavirus
Europe
Health
Rehabilitation
Work
France
Samy is detained on partial release in the west of France, in Le Mans. It is normally possible for these prisoners to go out during the week, notably to seek employment. Faced with the coronavirus pandemic and to limit social contact, those who are on partial release have been placed in detention.…
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Belgium: locked-up outside
Investigations
Testimonial
Europe
Long-term prisoners
Rehabilitation
Belgium
How does someone truly become free?
Marcus spent his childhood in a children’s home before serving more than 20 years in prison. He has never known anything other than confinement.
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