Analysis
Europe
Access to legal rights
Discipline
Mental health
Drugs
Material conditions
United Kingdom
England and Wales are two constituent countries of the United Kingdom. While their health, justice and prison policies fall under common legislation, their prison health services differ.
Germany: walling up madness
Analysis
Europe
Access to legal rights
Discipline
Mental health
Drugs
Material conditions
Germany
Germany is a federal republic divided into 16 Länder. The Ministry of Justice oversees prison health care. Federal law does not provide for any mental health care in prison. The Länder implement treatment measures. Significant variations have been observed from one territory and facility to another…
France: walling up madness
Analysis
Europe
Access to legal rights
Discipline
Mental health
Drugs
Material conditions
France
France has 187 prisons. Since 1994, prison health care falls under the authority of the Ministry of Health. Prison mental healthcare was the subject of a major reform in 2002.
Years in the Row
Analysis
Thematic paper
Africa
Women
Asia
Europe
Minors
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.
Africa
Access to legal rights
Material conditions
Death penalty
Torture
Social ties
Congo - Kinshasa
Since 2003, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has observed a de facto moratorium on executions. The authorities do not release any information regarding the application of the death penalty in the country.
Africa
Access to legal rights
Material conditions
Death penalty
Torture
Social ties
Mauritania
Mauritania has a moratorium on executions. Figures about the prisoners sentenced to death are scarce, as is information on their detention conditions. These prisoners are under the same detention regime as the rest of the prison population.
Europe
Access to legal rights
Material conditions
Death penalty
Torture
Social ties
Belarus
Belarus is the only European country where the death penalty is applied. Data relating to death sentences and executions are confidential. The time between trial and execution is very short. The country has been condemned several times for failing to respect the right to a fair trial.
Asia
Access to legal rights
Material conditions
Death penalty
Torture
Social ties
Japan
No executions were recorded in Japan in 2020, for the first time since 2011. Reportedly, more than 25% of people sentenced to death are over the age of 70 and two of them have been incarcerated for over 40 years.
Asia
Access to legal rights
Material conditions
Death penalty
Torture
Social ties
Indonesia
No execution has been recorded since 2016. The number of sentences, however, has been on the rise. Since 2014, Indonesia has increased its efforts in the war on drugs after Indonesian President Widodo described it as a “national emergency”.
Africa
Access to legal rights
Material conditions
Death penalty
Torture
Social ties
Cameroon
Since 2014, an anti-terrorism law has led to a sharp increase in death sentences in Cameroon. Official data is lacking and is sometimes inconsistent with figures published by civil society organisations.
Asia
Access to legal rights
Material conditions
Death penalty
Torture
Social ties
Pakistan
In 2015, Pakistan accounted for 20% of executions worldwide. However, 2020 saw a suspension of executions and a decline in sentences. Currently, there are more than 4,000 prisoners sentenced to death awaiting execution.
Asia
Access to legal rights
Material conditions
Death penalty
Torture
Social ties
India
Most prisoners sentenced to death in India have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment during their judicial process. This can take several years given the duration of the procedures.
United States: inadequate mental health treatment
Analysis
Opinion
North America
Mental health
Material conditions
Suicide
United States
How the prison system respond to the needs of mentally ill prisoners?
Park closed
Analysis
Facilities
Alternatives
France
“Quiet, we’re closed “ Marc Uhry thinks about the shrinking of freedom. Free rein on city, prison and confinement.
The use of imprisonment around the world
Analysis
Thematic paper
Australia: Ageing prisoners
Analysis
Opinion
Coronavirus
Elderly prisoners
Oceania
Health
Alternatives
Australia
ICPR and Prison Insider asked several experts worldwide to share their insights in the framework of the project ‘Understanding and reducing the use of imprisonment in 10 countries’. Natasha Ginnivan discusses the ageing prison population in Australia.
United States: addressing the structural inequalities underlying a failing prison health system
Analysis
Opinion
North America
Mental health
Drugs
Material conditions
Suicide
United States
ICPR and Prison Insider asked several experts worldwide to share their insights in the framework of the project ‘Understanding and reducing the use of imprisonment in 10 countries’. Homer Venters is a physician and epidemiologist working at the intersection of incarceration, health and human rights…
Coronavirus
South America
Overcrowding
Brazil
ICPR and Prison Insider asked several experts worldwide to share their insights in the framework of the project ‘Understanding and reducing the use of imprisonment in 10 countries’. Patrick Cacicedo is a Public Defender based in São Paulo.Patrick holds a PhD from the University of São Paulo (USP),…
Africa: informal governance and healthcare access in prison
Analysis
Opinion
Africa
Discipline
Health
Mental health
Material conditions
Facilities
Overcrowding
ICPR and Prison Insider asked several experts worldwide to share their insights in the framework of the project ‘Understanding and reducing the use of imprisonment in 10 countries’. Carole Berrih, a lawyer specialising in public law, focuses on the role of prisoners in the maintenance of order in N…
Africa: health beyond epidemics
Analysis
Opinion
Africa
Coronavirus
Health
Material conditions
ICPR and Prison Insider asked several experts worldwide to share their insights in the framework of the project ‘Understanding and reducing the use of imprisonment in 10 countries’. Frédéric Le Marcis focuses on epidemic responses in prison environment in different African countries.
Madagascar : The right to health must not be "forgotten behind bars"
Analysis
Opinion
Access to legal rights
Health
Mental health
Overcrowding
Madagascar
ICPR and Prison Insider asked several experts worldwide to share their insights in the framework of the project ‘Understanding and reducing the use of imprisonment in 10 countries’. Tamara Léger draws on her previous research experience to highlight the severe impact of prison overcrowding on healt…
Culture
Justice
Mental health
Material conditions
Netherlands
ICPR and Prison Insider asked several experts worldwide to share their insights in the framework of the project ‘Understanding and reducing the use of imprisonment in 10 countries’. Michiel van de Wolf discusses the Dutch approach for dealing with those considered as mentally disordered offenders.
Thailand: the overcriminalization of meth, a failed moral crusade
Analysis
Opinion
Asia
Long-term prisoners
Drugs
Overcrowding
Thailand
ICPR and Prison Insider asked several experts worldwide to share their insights in the framework of the project ‘Understanding and reducing the use of imprisonment in 10 countries’. Pascal Tanguay discusses the overcriminalization of meth-related crimes in Thailand and its consequences.