January 4, 2017 More than 150 inmates escape in Philippine prison break News Asia Philippines More than 150 inmates have escaped from a south Philippines prison after gunmen launched an attack. The authorities suspect the gunmen are linked to Islamist separatist groups. Around 100 armed men stormed the jail and engaged in a shoot-out with guards, as prisoners fled in the chaos. A guard and…
January 3, 2017 China : A human rights activist, a secret prison and a tale from Xi Jinping's new China News Asia China Peter Dahlin spent 23 days in a ‘black prison’ in Beijing, where he says he was deprived of sleep and questioned with a ‘communication enhancement’ machine. Here he tells the story of his incarceration and expulsion from the People’s Republic
January 2, 2017 India: video evidence of corruption in various jails in Maharashtra News Asia India The Anti-Corruption Bureau is in possession of video evidence of corruption in various jails in Maharashtra. The clips were submitted by a person who was not allowed to meet his relative lodged in Thane Jail until he paid a bribe to the jail staffers. Taken aback by the demand for the bribe, scienc…
December 14, 2016 Philippines : Prisons and rehab overcrowding News Asia Overcrowding Philippines As death toll rises, Philippine prisons and drug rehab centres fill to capacity as many try to avoid the same fate.
December 5, 2016 Des activistes philippins entament une grève de la faim en solidarité avec les prisonniers politiques News Asia Philippines In support of the campaign calling for the release of political prisoners in the Philippines, activists launched a solidarity fast — a protest that was staged in conjunction with the political prisoners themselves, and with their relatives. The fast began on December 3, 2016 and will last until Hum…
November 28, 2016 Japan : Asahikawa prison revamped for elderly inmates News Asia Japan Should prison facilities be friendly to aging inmates or remain punitively hard for criminals? It is a question that was faced by Asahikawa Prison in Hokkaido, which was remodeled and reopened earlier this year. The three-story, reinforced concrete building has about 500 private cells, each equippe…
November 25, 2016 Cambodge : Deux ex-dirigeants khmers rouges condamnés définitivement à la prison à vie News Asia Cambodia Sorry, this article is not available in English. You can consult the French version.
November 23, 2016 Philippines : Ici, les détenus ne sont pas derrière les barreaux News Asia Philippines Sorry, this article is not available in English. You consult the French version.
November 21, 2016 Philippines : Des enfants de neuf ans bientôt en prison ? News Asia Philippines Sorry, this article is not available in English. You can consult the French version.
November 21, 2016 China : ‘Over 2,000 Nigerians dying in Chinese prisons’ News Asia China Man deported from China smuggles notes from Dong-guan prison. Three days after Chijioke Obioha, a 38-year-old Nigerian, was executed in Singapore for drug trafficking, The Guardian has received a prison note smuggled out of Dong-guan prison in China by a source, which gave graphic details of the pl…
November 9, 2016 Philippines drug war turn jail into a haven News Asia Drugs Overcrowding Philippines Jason Madarang, awaiting trial on a charge of drug use, is in a muggy, windowless cell in a Manila prison so overcrowded that inmates must sleep in halls and stairwells and share each toilet with 150 other men.
November 3, 2016 Inde : une évasion digne d’un mauvais scénario de film News Asia Protest India Sorry, this article is not available in English. If you wish, you can consult the French version.
November 1, 2016 Russia : jailed activist alleges torture, threats in prison letter News Asia Europe Torture Russia A jailed Russian opposition activist has accused a prison warden of overseeing the systematic torture of inmates and of threatening to kill him, allegations made in a desperate letter to his wife that he asked her to publish to save his life.
November 1, 2016 Russia activist Ildar Dadin accuses prison of torture News Asia Europe Torture Russia Russian officials are investigating claims that a well-known opposition activist has been repeatedly beaten and threatened in prison. Ildar Dadin is serving two and a half years for a series of street protests. He told his lawyer that he had been strung up by his handcuffed wrists, had his head sho…
October 31, 2016 India: Indian police kill 8 militants who fled from prison News Asia India Indian police Monday gunned down eight suspected militants of the banned group Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) in an encounter, hours after they escaped from a high-security prison in the central state of Madhya Pradesh’s capital Bhopal.
October 20, 2016 Thailand : free Somyot, arbitrarily detained for 2,000 days News Asia Thailand [Press Release] Thai authorities must immediately and unconditionally release human rights defender Somyot Phrueksakasemsuk, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (an FIDH-OMCT partnership) reiterated today.
October 19, 2016 Bangladesh team visits Academy of Prisons News Asia Bangladesh After a 3-day visit, team plans to take back learnings and set up similar academy at home. A team of prison officials from Bangladesh are on a visit to Academy of Prisons and Correctional Administration (APCA) here to learn about the academy and set up a similar one back home. The nine-member team,…
October 17, 2016 India : undertrial prisoners in India equals population of Barbados News Asia Justice India An IndiaSpend analysis of available data reveals the extent of the problem: Between 2010 and 2014, 25 per cent undertrials had been jailed for more than one year. The percentage of undertrials to total prisoners has remained over 65 per cent during this period. In 2014, seven in 10 prisoners were u…
October 15, 2016 Chine : les femmes d'avocats emprisonnés défient le régime communiste News Women Asia Justice China Sorry, this article is not available in English. If you wish, you can consult the French version
October 13, 2016 Philippines : 39 injured in Manila City Jail noise barrage News Asia Philippines Thirty five inmates and four jailguards of the Manila City Jail were injured on Thursday after a noise barrage was held against Jail Warden Supt. Gerald Bantag. A report of GMA News’ Susan Enriquez on “24 Oras” said members of Batang City Jail staged the noise barrage in protest of Bantag’s orders…
October 13, 2016 Philippines : à Manille, les détenus manifestent contre le directeur de la prison News Asia Drugs Protest Philippines Sorry, this article is not available in English. If you wish, you can consult the French version.
October 12, 2016 Japon : un grand pas vers l’abolition de la peine capitale News Asia Death penalty Japan Sorry, this article is not available in English. If you wish, you can consult the French version.
October 3, 2016 Kazakhstan : UN torture prevention body urges Kazakhstan to enhance prisoner rehabilitation News Asia Torture Kazakhstan The United Nations’ torture prevention body has urged Kazakhstan to focus more on the rehabilitation of prisoners rather than punishment, as part of efforts to ensure that people deprived of their liberty are protected against torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. “We note that Kazakhs…
September 27, 2016 Myanmar : activists report dire state of Myanmar’s prison system News Asia Myanmar (Burma) While the country may be charting a rapid course of reform, behind the high walls and iron bars of the prison system positive change has proceeded at a more sluggish pace. Thousands of prisoners continue to be kept in grueling conditions where mistreatment and exploitation are still the norm, accor…
