Information, topic by topic, on prisons across the world

April 21, 2020

Cyprus: Nicosia prisons lays out measures taken since March 10

News

Coronavirus Europe Health Cyprus

The department for prisons on Friday announced inmates have been allowed additional phone hours and skype calls during the month that visitation has been cancelled due to Covid-19. In an announcement wishing happy Easter holidays to the inmates, the department numbered all the measures implemented…

April 21, 2020

Latvia: no COVID-19 infection cases found in prisons so far

News

Coronavirus Europe Health Latvia

So far not a single COVID-19 infection case has been found in prisons in Latvia – neither among convicts nor among prison guards, said chief of Prison Administration (IeVP) Ilona Spure in an interview to Latvijas Radio. According to her, every new convict, is put in a 14-day quarantine after arriva…

April 21, 2020

France: "on ne sait pas encore si c’est les ERIS ou le virus qui va nous mettre à terre"

News

Coronavirus Europe Health Material conditions France

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

April 21, 2020

Switzerland: à Genève, les juges croulent sous la supplique sanitaire

News

Coronavirus Europe Justice Health Switzerland

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

April 14, 2020

South America: cut prison crowding to fight Covid-19

News

Coronavirus South America Health Overcrowding

(New York) – The unsanitary, overcrowded prisons and juvenile detention centers in most Latin American and Caribbean countries offer prime conditions for outbreaks of COVID-19 that could severely affect the health of detainees and of the population at large, Human Rights Watch said today. In March…

April 14, 2020

France: à Fresnes, la double peine du confinement

News

Coronavirus Europe Health France

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

April 14, 2020

France: face au coronavirus, la déflation carcérale a commencé

News

Coronavirus Europe Health Material conditions France

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

April 14, 2020

Belgium: "les prisons sont au bord de l’explosion, on risque le drame"

News

Coronavirus Europe Access to legal rights Health Drugs Violence Social ties Belgium

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

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April 10, 2020

Burundi: "Some people are sleeping outside in the rain"

Testimonial

Africa Health Material conditions Overcrowding Burundi

D. is incarcerated in the Mpimba prison. He is one of over 4000 inmates in a dilapidated establishment that was designed to hold up to 800. He describes his day to day life.

April 10, 2020

Malta: Corradino prison staff start week-long shifts to reduce Covid-19 risks

News

Coronavirus Europe Health Work Malta

Corradino Correctional Facility staff have begun working in week-long shifts as increasingly tight anti-coronavirus measures are adopted to avoid an outbreak of the disease in the prison.

April 10, 2020

Greece: Covid-19, in prisons isolation is not enough

News

Coronavirus Europe Health Material conditions Overcrowding Greece

COVID-19 has forced millions of people around the globe into self-isolation and quarantine; however, millions were already living in isolation. People detained in Greek prisons are among those who must now face the pandemic with limited or no access to protective means, while living conditions in p…

April 9, 2020

Australia: prison radicalisation and deradicalisation

News

Oceania Australia

A number of people who have committed acts of terrorism were radicalised in prison. Examples include Richard Reid (the 2001 ‘shoe-bomber’), some individuals involved in the 2004 Madrid bombing, and the attackers who committed the Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris in 2015. Studies of European and US j…

April 9, 2020

USA: probation and parole officers are rethinking their rules as coronavirus spreads

News

Coronavirus North America Justice Health United States

Social distancing is pressing officials across the country to skip traditional methods such as jailing people for “technical violations” like missing check-ins.

April 9, 2020

USA: is social distancing possible behind bars?

News

Coronavirus North America Health United States

The short answer is no - social distancing is even harder behind bars than in nursing homes or on cruise ships.

April 9, 2020

UK: the role of online visits in supporting family contact

News

Coronavirus Europe Health Social ties United Kingdom

Following discussion with families who currently have a loved one in prison, Prison Reform Trust associate Sarah Beresford reflects on the role that allowing greater use of virtual visits could play in helping people in prison and their loved ones through the Covid-19 pandemic, and beyond. “Maybe t…

April 9, 2020

South America: por qué es tan importante evitar que el coronavirus entre en las cárceles

News

Coronavirus South America Health

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: Spanish

April 9, 2020

France: les avocats traînent la garde des Sceaux en justice

News

Coronavirus Europe Justice Health France

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

April 9, 2020

Argentina: jueza pidió informes sobre la situación sanitaria en cárceles

News

Coronavirus South America Health Argentina

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: Spanish

April 9, 2020

Argentina: establecen protocolo para ingreso y uso de celulares en cárceles

News

Coronavirus South America Health Material conditions Argentina

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: Spanish

April 9, 2020

Africa: penser la prison à l'heure de la pandémie de Coronavirus

News

Africa Health Material conditions

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

April 9, 2020

Europe: le taux d’incarcération est resté stable en 2019

News

Europe

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

April 9, 2020

France: en 2019, ils sont morts en prison

News

Coronavirus Europe Health Mental health Suicide France

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

April 9, 2020

France: pour certaines féministes, la prison n'est pas la solution contre les agressions sexuelles

News

Women Europe Justice Violence France

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

April 9, 2020

France: de la prison au confinement, une sortie "surréaliste"

News

Coronavirus Europe Health Rehabilitation Work France

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French