July 8, 2017 India: does anyone care what happens to women prisoners in jails? News Women Asia India Locked up behind iron bars, stuffed into the darkest corners of prison complexes, women prisoners in India face discrimination every day. From something as simple as recreation to something as complex as harassment and assault, many women prisoners live a life that is oppressive in most Indian jail…
July 8, 2017 Jails, justice system at breaking point as Philippine drugs war intensifies News Asia Drugs Philippines In a teeming prison for undertrials in the Philippines’ capital Manila, Rody Lacanilao, an inmate for 18 months, says he prays for clear weather at night.
July 5, 2017 Bangladesh: End Disappearances and Secret Detentions News Asia Bangladesh Bangladesh law enforcement authorities have illegally detained hundreds of people since 2013, including scores of opposition activists, and held them in secret detention, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The Bangladesh government should immediately stop this widespread practice o…
June 28, 2017 Philippines bill proposes jail time for unenthusiastic anthem singers News Asia Philippines (CNN)Philippines citizens may need to start exercising their vocal chords. The country’s House of Representatives has approved a bill requiring members of the public to sing the country’s national anthem, Lupang Hinirang, “with fervor” whenever it is played publicly.
June 28, 2017 Cambodia: Drug war fuels crowding, health concerns News Asia Health Drugs Cambodia With authorities expressing a desire to extend the Kingdom’s controversial drug war beyond its six-month window, observers say an outbreak of respiratory illness among prisoners in Kampong Speu’s provincial prison last week has underscored the medical pressures created by an ongoing prison overcrow…
June 28, 2017 Thailand : New anti-torture committee greeted with skepticism, criticism News Asia Torture Thailand As Thailand has delayed passage of legislation to criminalize torture and enforced disappearances, a committee created by the junta leader to investigate the matter met for the first time Monday. The committee, chaired by Justice Minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana, was set up under Gen. Prayuth Chan-o…
June 27, 2017 China: 13 Chinese sentenced to death for drugs offences as thousands look on in public trial News Asia Drugs China Two courts in southern China’s Guangdong province sentenced 13 people to death for producing and selling drugs at a public trial in a stadium in the city of Shanwei watched by some 10,000 people, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
June 27, 2017 Indonesia: prison woes: packed but understaffed News Asia Indonesia A Bali prison break by four inmates last Monday has again shone the spotlight on longstanding issues of overcapacity and understaffing at Indonesia’s correctional facilities. The challenge of securing over 200,000 inmates in fewer than 500 prisons in the country was further highlighted when a warde…
June 27, 2017 India : Police torture reportedly leads to couple attempting self-immolation News Asia Torture India Tension prevailed at the district collectorate here today when a couple attempted to self-immolate accusing an police inspector and a retired Assistant Commissioner of police (ACP) of giving torture over a financial transaction with a private lender.
June 26, 2017 Chine : le Nobel de la paix Liu Xiaobo libéré de prison, en phase terminale de cancer News Asia China This article is not available in English. If you wish, you can consult the French version.
June 26, 2017 Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo released from Chinese prison with late-stage cancer News Asia China Liu was awarded Nobel peace prize in 2010 while serving 11-year sentence for inciting subversion of state power
June 25, 2017 India: inmate’s death sparks riot in Byculla women’s prison News Women Asia India The death of an inmate, allegedly after being assaulted by prison guards, at the women’s prison in Byculla on Friday evening led to a riot by inmates that continued through the night and subsided only on Saturday morning. Enraged inmates set newspapers and furniture on fire and shouted slogans from…
June 24, 2017 Indonesia: international crime syndicate may be behind Bali prison breakout - as two inmates who escaped through a tiny tunnel are captured while Aussie on the run 'parties in Amsterdam' News Asia Indonesia A crime syndicate may have helped prisoners escape from Kerobokan prison Two escapees arrived back in Bali on Saturday after being caught by police Perth man Shaun Davidson and Malaysian national Tee Kok King remain at large
June 21, 2017 Japan: new magazine offers convicts hope of escaping from a life of crime News Asia Japan To prevent those with criminal convictions from committing further offenses after leaving correctional facilities, a job magazine for people with a history of crime or delinquency will be distributed at prisons and juvenile training schools nationwide starting mid-July.
June 21, 2017 Thailand: Phuket juveniles riot as ‘teen kingpins’ moved to prison News Asia Thailand Officers at the centre, located on Sakdidet Rd, called for backup at about 4pm after they found they could not contain the youths, who were smashing windows and tearing apart the dormitory and other areas in the youth detention facility. Phuket City Police led by Deputy Commander Lt Col Nikorn Chut…
June 20, 2017 China: Around 120,000 given over five years in prison for drug crimes since 2012 News Asia Drugs China Nearly 120,000 criminals charged with drug offences were handed sentences longer than five years by Chinese courts in the last five years, data released by the nation’s top court Tuesday shows.
June 20, 2017 Indonésie : quatre étrangers s'évadent d'une prison de Bali au moyen d'un tunnel News Asia Indonesia This article is not available in English. If you wish, you can consult the French version.
June 20, 2017 Indonesia cracks down on terrorism with new laws and joint patrols News Asia Justice Indonesia Jakarta: Indonesians who join terrorist groups overseas will face a maximum 15 years’ jail under new anti-terrorism laws expected to be passed by September. The new laws will enable authorities to crack down on Indonesians who return after fighting with the Islamic State in Syria or the Philippine…
June 20, 2017 China: police-run detention centres are a 'human rights disaster': rights lawyers News Asia Justice Torture China Recent proposals to reform China’s police-run detention centers are unlikely to do much to address a nationwide “human rights disaster” for police suspects in detention, human rights lawyers told RFA. The country’s Ministry of Public Security issued a call for consultation this week on a replacemen…
June 20, 2017 China : Draft law on detention centers won’t help reduce police torture, critics say News Asia Torture China Source - Caixin Global A draft of China’s first-ever law on criminal detention centers calls for better access to bail and medical care for detainees, but legal experts say it will have a limited impact on reducing police torture.
June 19, 2017 Nepal: women in jail News Women Asia Nepal A woman from Palpa is currently serving her term at the Central Jail in Sundhara, Kathmandu for killing her own child. She is mentally disturbed. “She had beaten her child for playing with water. How could a mother kill her own child? Fate locked her up,” said a fellow inmate at the jail. “I myself…
June 17, 2017 Philippines: CoA report shows 511% increase in inmates amid drug war News Asia Drugs Philippines This is a 511% increase in congestion that way exceeds the said ideal cell capacity of 20,746. According to the CoA’s annual report on the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) released on June 15, the total number of inmates was up by 30,544 as of Dec. 31, 2016 from the year before.
June 15, 2017 Pakistan : Bilawal condemns police torture on young docs News Asia Torture Pakistan KARACHI - The Chairman, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has strongly condemned brutal police torture against young doctors in Peshawar.
June 15, 2017 Indonesia : behind prison walls [video] News Asia Indonesia For the first time ever a film crew was granted full access to Kerobokan jail, which sits in the centre of Bali’s tourist mecca. Foreign Correspondent meets five prisoners who call the space inside these walls home.