
Analysis
Spain: managing uncertainty
Analysis
Coronavirus
Europe
Health
Material conditions
Protest
Activities
Social ties
Spain
As the COVID-19 outbreaks around the world suprised most governments, how did the Spanish authorities respond to the crisis behind the bars? Were prison authorities prepared to avoid the spread of the virus? Which measures were taken and how did them impact prisoners’ lives?
South Africa: managing uncertainty
Analysis
Africa
Coronavirus
Health
Material conditions
Protest
Overcrowding
Activities
Social ties
South Africa
As the COVID-19 outbreaks around the world suprised most governments, how did the South African authorities respond to the crisis behind the bars? Were prison authorities prepared to avoid the spread of the virus? Which measures were taken and how did them impact prisoners’ lives?
Thailand: managing uncertainty
Analysis
Coronavirus
Asia
Health
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Activities
Social ties
Work
Thailand
As the COVID-19 outbreaks around the world suprised most governments, how did the Thai authorities respond to the crisis behind the bars? Were prison authorities prepared to avoid the spread of the virus? Which measures were taken and how did them impact prisoners’ lives?
Brazil: managing uncertainty
Analysis
Coronavirus
South America
Material conditions
Activities
Social ties
Brazil
As the COVID-19 outbreaks around the world suprised most governments, how did the Brazilian authorities respond to the crisis behind the bars? Were prison authorities prepared to avoid the spread of the virus? Which measures were taken and how did them impact prisoners’ lives?
Ireland: managing uncertainty
Analysis
Coronavirus
Europe
Material conditions
Activities
Social ties
Ireland
As the COVID-19 outbreaks around the world suprised most governments, how did the Irish authorities respond to the crisis behind the bars? Were prison authorities prepared to avoid the spread of the virus? Which measures were taken and how did them impact prisoners’ lives?
Norway: managing uncertainty
Analysis
Coronavirus
Europe
Health
Material conditions
Activities
Social ties
Norway
As the COVID-19 outbreaks around the world suprised most governments, how did the Norwegian authorities respond to the crisis behind the bars? Were prison authorities prepared to avoid the spread of the virus? Which measures were taken and how did them impact prisoners’ lives?
Coronavirus
North America
Access to legal rights
United States
Randall Jordan-Aparo, Darren Rainey and Latandra Ellington are not household names. But like Michael Brown, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, they were killed by law enforcement officers.
France: Inequality of life during an epidemic
Analysis
Opinion
Coronavirus
Women
Europe
Minors
Foreign prisoners
Health
Overcrowding
France
Those imprisoned or detained are in forced confinement, states Didier Fassin. He has published a forum on the Liberation website. He questions whether the “sense of responsibility and solidarity” advocated by Emmanuel Macron stops at the doors of prisons and overcrowded detention centres.
France: reintegration is everyone’s business
Analysis
Interview
Europe
Justice
Overcrowding
Alternatives
Rehabilitation
France
With more and more prisoners and a substantial recidivism rate, prison does not succeed in protecting society. Although reintegration is one of the missions of the prison administration, it is not considered to be of vital importance. Why?
Death penalty
Violence
20,000 inmates are currently subject, or condemned to the death penalty.

Human rights in the Argentine criminal system
Analysis
Report
South America
Access to legal rights
Argentina
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: Spanish
LGBTI people deprived of their freedom: ring the warning bell
Analysis
Report
LGBTQI
Access to legal rights
Justice
Gang rapes, harassment, inhumane treatment, insults: LGTBI people are victims of physical and verbal abuse. Imprisonment exposes them to more risks.
DRC: insufficient health care at Makala Prison
Analysis
Report
Africa
Health
Overcrowding
Congo - Kinshasa
“We are sick, but since there is no doctor to see us, we have no access to any medicine.”
Death penalty: global trends
Analysis
Report
Chile: overcrowded cells with no water and ill treatment
Analysis
Report
South America
Health
Overcrowding
Chile
Many prisons do not have running access to drinking water 24h/day, a dramatic situation in Chili.
Italy: a government plan for harsher prison conditions
Analysis
Opinion
Europe
Mental health
Italy
Only vendetta and no justice in the Five Star Movement - Lega’s governing contract for Italy
Venezuela : malnutrition and tuberculosis
Analysis
Report
Global prison trends 2018
Analysis
Report
North America
Central America and the Caribbean
Pre-trial detention
South America
Women
Asia
Europe
Middle East
Long-term prisoners
Justice
Overcrowding
Penal Reform International and the Thailand Institute of Justice co-published their 2018 annual report aiming to provide a global account on the state of prisons and the use of imprisonment throughout the world.