Justice
North America
Justice
Facilities
United States
The state cut incarceration in half, while crime plummeted.
Central African Republic: witchcraft
Interview
Africa
Women
Justice
Torture
Central African Republic
Representations of witchcraft are very prevalent in Central African society. The penal code nevertheless criminalises certain practices of witchcraft and charlatanism. The same people are targeted over and over again: women, especially those who are older and isolated. Interview.
Asia
Access to legal rights
Justice
India
In 1972, the Wildlife Protection Act was established to protect wildlife in India. It has led, however, to the criminalisation of an already marginalised part of the population: the forest-dwelling communities. The CPA project told us what this means in practice.
Kenya: left behind
Interview
Africa
Access to legal rights
Justice
Mental health
Kenya
Misunderstood and excluded by their peers, people with mental health conditions are more likely to end up in prison. Once incarcerated, their ostracization is striking. The NGO Tunawiri addresses this issue by providing training to incarcerated people and prison staff. Interview.
Asia
Justice
Torture
Myanmar (Burma)
Africa
Justice
Health
Material conditions
Ethiopia
Nigerian inmates in Kaliti prison, a maximum-security prison in Addis Abba, Ethiopia, have again called on the government to facilitate their transfer to prisons in Nigeria.
The inmates are pleading to be allowed to serve the rest of their jail terms in Nigeria. The detainees said they suffer grave…
Justice
Drugs
Death penalty
Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, the war on drugs leads to human rights violations against persons accused of drug offences, even for the possession of very small quantities. Petty offences, high stakes: Ambika Satkunanathan explains who is targeted by this policy and what its consequences are. Interview.
Caught in the spiral
Thematic paper
Africa
Pre-trial detention
Asia
Access to legal rights
Justice
Drugs
Alternatives
Rehabilitation
What are the human and social costs of the recourse to imprisonment? This series explores the experiences of various civil society organisations, formerly incarcerated people, researchers and policy makers challenging the criminalisation of poverty, status or activism.
Republic of Congo: starting from scratch
Interview
Culture
Justice
Health
Material conditions
France
Antoine Lazarus’ dedication to protecting the rights of incarcerated individuals is immeasurable. This year, he chairs the 2023 edition of Concertina: Coming together to explore imprisonment. He sat down with Prison Insider to discuss his experience as a doctor, activist, and silence-breaker. Op-ed…
Africa
Asia
Europe
Oceania
Justice
In March 2023, formerly incarcerated people from around the globe met at the Incarceration Nations Network (INN) hub in Cape Town for the first edition of the Global Freedom Fellowship. Khalil Chait, who spent 10 years in prison in the Netherlands, was one of them. Interview.
Europe
Justice
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Ireland
The Irish Prison Service has confirmed that prisons have reached capacity and are now overcrowded, following a temporary dip during the Covid-19 pandemic
Belgium: "a key voice"
Interview
Europe
Justice
Health
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Belgium
Marc Nève is a lawyer and President of the Central Prison Monitoring Council in Belgium. He sat down with us to discuss the work of the Council, as well as the main issues facing the Belgian prison system today. Interview.
Middle East
Justice
Health
Overcrowding
Pakistan
Some jail cells, the report says, are holding as many as 15 prisoners when they were designed for just three people.
Central America and the Caribbean
Justice
Nicaragua
The authoritarian government of Daniel Ortega handed over 222 prisoners as a way to signal a desire to restart relations with the United States, according to officials.