Information, topic by topic, on prisons across the world

October 11, 2019

South Africa: pollsmoor most overcrowded prison in the Western Cape

News

Overcrowding South Africa

Cape Town - Pollsmoor prison has been pinpointed as the most overcrowded prison in the Western Cape. Medium B, which houses males, is more than 200% overcrowded.

October 11, 2019

USA: California now has the nation’s strictest private prison ban

News

North America United States

The law prohibits any for-profit lockups—including immigration detention centers.

October 11, 2019

USA: how a prison play goes on Tour (photos)

News

North America United States

Thirty Colorado inmates staged “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” for nearby prisons. For some, it was the first time in years they were outside 20-foot walls and razor fences.

October 10, 2019

Brazil: el escándalo de torturas que Bolsonaro considera una “tontería” y Moro, “un “malentendido”

News

South America Torture Brazil

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

October 10, 2019

UK: self-inflicted deaths rise in prisons in England and Wales

News

Europe United Kingdom

Watchdog also finds drug use continues to plague jails despite agreed action plans.

October 10, 2019

Turkey: prison board not have authority to block letters on rights violations according the Constitutional Court

News

Europe Turkey

Two inmates’ letters to parliamentarians on rights violations in the prison were not sent by the prison administration.

October 10, 2019

France: comment l'administration scrute les surveillants radicalisés

News

Europe Religion France

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

October 9, 2019

Venezuela: tortura en el reñidero de Maduro sobre detenidos desnudos en el suelo

News

South America Torture Venezuela

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

October 9, 2019

Pakistan: letters from death row; life after prison

News

Asia Pakistan

A man who survives two decades on death row struggles to build a new life after prison.

October 8, 2019

Italy: Europe court says Italy's hard prison regime breaches human rights

News

Europe Italy

ROME (Reuters) - A European court ruled on Tuesday that Italy’s tough prison regimes for mobsters and convicted terrorists who refused to cooperate with the justice system violated human rights and needed to be changed.

October 8, 2019

Syria: boys, men held in inhumane conditions

News

Middle East Torture Syria

A Kurdish-led armed group backed by the United States-led coalition against the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) is detaining thousands of Syrian and foreign men and boys in severely overcrowded informal detention centers in northeast Syria, Human Rights Watch said today.

October 8, 2019

Mexico: la prison la plus incontrôlable du pays fermée pour devenir un musée

News

Central America and the Caribbean Mexico

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

October 7, 2019

Chad: l'armée reprend le contrôle de la prison d’Abéché après une mutinerie

News

Africa Protest Violence Chad

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

October 7, 2019

Belgium: la prison de Saint-Gilles sous haute tension

News

Europe Belgium

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

October 7, 2019

Turkey: Loup Bureau, une plume libre dans une prison

News

Europe Turkey

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

October 7, 2019

Iran: Sepideh Qoliyan said she was tortured, now she’s serving an 18-year prison sentence

News

Middle East Torture Iran

Sepideh Qoliyan is currently serving an 18.6-year prison sentence in Iran’s Gharchak Prison for women after being arrested at workers’ rights protests in the city of Shush, Khuzestan Province, and publicly stating that she and fellow detainees had been tortured in the custody of the Intelligence Mi…

October 6, 2019

USA: inmate recorded horrid prison conditions using cameras hidden in Bible, oversize glasses

News

North America Material conditions United States

A prisoner at the Martin Correctional Institution spent years recording life at the Florida facility, detailing horrid conditions and neglect from staff, according to The Miami Herald.

October 5, 2019

India: an oasis of knowledge within Tihar prison walls

News

Asia India

From computer applications to English, inmates are learning and imparting new skills to each other at an institute opened recently on jail premises

October 5, 2019

USA: the economics of prison gangs

News

North America United States

Prison gangs have not always been present in the American penal system so understanding the factors that have given rise to their growth is key to seeing prisoners as rational actors.

October 5, 2019

Gambia: des conditions de détention qui tardent à changer

News

Africa Material conditions Gambia

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

October 4, 2019

Ireland: 23 pregnant women have been in custody in prison this year

News

Women Europe Ireland

A total of 23 pregnant women have been in custody in the country’s two female prisons so far this year, new figures have revealed.

October 4, 2019

UK: baby dies in prison after inmate "gives birth alone in cell"

News

Europe United Kingdom

Police are investigating the death of a baby in Britain’s largest female prison after an inmate gave birth alone in her cell at night.

October 4, 2019

Philippines: more than 5,000 inmates die at this prison every year

News

Asia Philippines

One in five detainees at the Philippines’ national penitentiary die every year, officials at the prison hospital have revealed.

October 4, 2019

USA: study shows link between restrictive housing and increased risk of mortality after release from prison

News

North America Violence United States

A new study led by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has found that being held in restrictive housing (i.e., solitary confinement) is associated with an increased risk of death after a person is released from prison.