Death penalty
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
Malaysia
In 2018, Malaysia had a change in government for the first time since its independence. The new administration has committed to abolishing the death penalty for all crimes. Malaysia has had a moratorium on executions since this date.
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.
Syrie : le “piano” de la mort de la prison de Palmyre
News
Middle East
Death penalty
Torture
Syria
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
Corée du Nord : L’horreur des exécutions publiques
News
Asia
Death penalty
North Korea
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
Le Japon exécute des condamnés à mort, pour la première fois depuis 2019
News
Asia
Justice
Death penalty
Japan
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
Middle East
Material conditions
Death penalty
Torture
Bahrain
Use of the death penalty has increased by 600% in the last decade. Many of those sentenced to death are political prisoners. Torture and the death penalty are allegedly used as strategic tools against political opponents.
Japon : des condamnés à mort poursuivent le gouvernement en justice
News
Asia
Justice
Death penalty
Japan
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
Women
Asia
Drugs
Death penalty
Malaysia
Incident has ignited fierce debate on women’s rights and capital punishment in Malaysia.
Global Prison Trends 2021
Report
Africa
Coronavirus
Women
Asia
Europe
Minors
Middle East
Oceania
Health
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Death penalty
More than eleven million people are imprisoned around the world. Of this number, 70% are awaiting trial, a percentage that has been continuously increasing since 2000.
Africa
Death penalty
Sierra Leone
Parliament voted on 23 July to abolish the death penalty in Sierra Leone
Myanmar : les tribunaux de la junte ont prononcé 65 condamnations à mort
News
Women
Asia
Minors
Protest
Death penalty
Torture
Myanmar (Burma)
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
Syrie : les prisonniers du régime, un business juteux pour les escrocs, face à des familles désespérées
News
Middle East
Health
Death penalty
Torture
Violence
Syria
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
United States: surge in life sentences
Analysis
Opinion
North America
Long-term prisoners
Justice
Death penalty
United States
Ashley Nellis, Ph.D. is a Senior Research Analyst at the Washington DC-based NGO, The Sentencing Project, which has been active in the struggle to reform American law and practice on life sentences. Here, Ashley discusses America’s now commonplace use of life sentences and calls for bolder approach…
Africa
Drugs
Protest
Death penalty
Violence
Social ties
Niger
Some death row prisoners at Kurmawa Prison in Kano have staged protests over confiscation mobile phones, marijuana and other prohibited items smuggled to them by visitors.