Justice
Central America and the Caribbean
Justice
Mental health
Facilities
Antigua & Barbuda
Following a court order mandating that Public Safety Minister Sir Steadroy Benjamin find a suitable place to detain murder-accused schizophrenic Ziggy Beazer, Cabinet yesterday announced that a refurbished facility in Crabbs would serve as this temporary space.
Türkiye: a struggle for control
Interview
Europe
Justice
Material conditions
Facilities
Turkey
Turkish prisons underwent significant transformations in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The historical background to this development reflects a conflict between political groups and authorities. Interview with Arda İbikoğlu (Altinbaş University).
Türkiye: lawyers in danger
Interview
Europe
Access to legal rights
Justice
Social ties
Turkey
The Anti-Terror Law is used by the State to imprison lawyers who defend opponents. The Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD) has been specifically targeted on several occasions. One of its members, Güçlü Sevimli, explains why and under what conditions they are being held.
Badinter, "a beacon of light in the mist"
Insights
Interview
Europe
Access to legal rights
Justice
Material conditions
Death penalty
France
Robert Badinter, a leading figure in the abolition of the death penalty in France, passed away on 9 February. Raphaël Chenuil-Hazan, director of Together Against the Death Penalty, became close with the former minister over time through their mutual cause. Here’s the story.
North America
Foreign prisoners
Justice
Canada
Newfoundland and Labrador has informed the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) that it will no longer incarcerate people detained solely for immigration purposes in its provincial jails as of March 31, 2025, according to information obtained by Radio-Canada.
Women
Europe
Justice
Health
Social ties
United Kingdom
Pregnant women are now less likely to be sent to prison under new guidelines which will force courts to consider how jail time affects a woman who is either due to give birth or has recently had a baby.
Europe
Justice
Overcrowding
Alternatives
France
As the number of prisoners continues to soar, France has among Europe’s most overcrowded prisons. But with the range of imprisonable crimes also growing, Emmanuel Macron’s government shows little interest in rehabilitating convicts outside the cell walls.
Europe
Justice
Overcrowding
Alternatives
Netherlands
Due to the shortage of prison guards, outgoing Minister Franc Weerwind (Legal Protection) is taking two additional measures to reduce the pressure on prisons acutely. For instance, people who still have to serve a prison sentence of up to two months will have to do so at a later date.
Europe
Justice
Material conditions
Protest
Overcrowding
Italy
Prisoners in the northern Italian city of Parma are on hunger strike over poor sanitation and overcrowding, the latest in a spate of protests in the country’s jails where cases of suicide and self-harm are at an all-time high. Giorgia Meloni’s hard-right government has responded by threatening to m…
Africa
Crises
Asia
Europe
Middle East
Access to legal rights
Justice
Material conditions
Facilities
Torture
Alice Jill Edwards was the first woman to be appointed as UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Prison Insider met with her to find out more about what she has to say to justice systems and prison administrations around the world.
Africa
Access to legal rights
Justice
Social ties
Kenya
Prisoners held in custody have been granted the right to attend the funerals of their close family members, unless compelling reasons dictate otherwise. The ruling was made in a case by former journalist Moses Dola, who is serving a 10-year prison sentence since 2018.
Asia
Justice
Material conditions
Violence
Russia
Russia’s most significant opposition leader for the past decade, Alexei Navalny, has died in an Arctic Circle jail, the prison service has said. President Vladimir Putin’s most vociferous critic, he was serving 19 years on extremism charges that were widely seen as politically motivated.
South America
Justice
Material conditions
Torture
Ecuador
An Ecuadorian judge has ordered the Ombudsman’s Office to investigate alleged acts of torture by the military in several prisons in the country. The move comes under the state of emergency enacted by the government at the beginning of January to end a prison riot crisis.
Asia
Justice
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Torture
Pakistan
Pakistan’s prisons remain terribly overcrowded and under-resourced, and nascent efforts at progressive reform are stymied by ingrained attitudes of discrimination, including against religious and ethnic minorities.