Information, topic by topic, on prisons across the world

September 27, 2019

USA: prison book bans called ‘arbitrary and irrational’

News

North America United States

A report from PEN America says some restrictions targeted books by authors including Barack Obama, John Updike and Joyce Carol Oates.

September 25, 2019

Australia: atados y amordazados, la realidad de los menores en las cárceles

News

Oceania Australia

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

September 25, 2019

France: À Fleury-Mérogis, la première crèche en prison

News

Europe France

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

September 24, 2019

France : à la prison de Riom, "le savoir permet de casser les murs"

News

Europe France

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

September 24, 2019

Brazil: Lula préfère la prison à un aménagement de peine

News

South America Brazil

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

September 24, 2019

France: prisons and mental health

Interview

Europe Health Mental health France

People with mental illness are over represented in the prison population. This group is particularly vulnerable and subjected to violence and abuse. Prison psychiatry is a sector that has undergone significant changes lately, in France and elsewhere. Where do we stand right now? In July 2014, Adeli…

September 24, 2019

Uruguay: rebuilding life after prison

Interview

South America Uruguay

They founded a cooperative to mitigate housing and employment challenges. These cooperatives are one of the measures put in place to give low-income residents access to lodging through financial support from the State. Self-management, solidarity and participatory democracy are the central values…

September 24, 2019

Kosovo: “corruption cases have destroyed the prison system”

Interview

Kosovo is a small country of about 11,000 km². It has 12 prisons and 1,648 prisoners, according to the last published figures. The Kosova Rehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims (KRCT) monitors and visits prisons to defend and promote human rights. Alban Muriqi is a law graduate and a project man…

September 23, 2019

South Africa: transgender inmate wins right to express her gender in male prison

News

LGBTQI South Africa

The Equality Court sitting in the Western Cape ordered that the Department of Correctional Services had to respect September’s wishes to be treated as a woman.

September 23, 2019

Mexico: cárceles de Tamaulipas, peligro para niños y niñas

News

Central America and the Caribbean Mexico

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

September 22, 2019

Spain: mujeres y presas, la discriminación por género también se sufre en las cárceles

News

Europe Spain

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

September 21, 2019

Paraguay: autorizan utilización de blindados y personal militar para custodiar cárceles

News

South America Paraguay

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

September 21, 2019

Argentina: crisis en las cárceles y comisarías bonaerenses, la superpoblación alcanza el 100%

News

South America Overcrowding Argentina

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

September 21, 2019

China: "special project", torture and death in a prison

News

Asia Torture China

The city of Benxi in China’s Liaoning Province boasts a unique tourist attraction: the smallest lake in the world, measuring just 15 square meters. But there’s another aspect to Benxi that is nothing to be proud of—it is home to one of the most brutal prisons in the country, especially for Falun Go…

September 21, 2019

USA: sentenced to death by Incarceration in New York state prison

News

North America United States

The conversation around criminal justice reform is finally moving from general talk about mass incarceration to the specific reality of the multitude of people serving massive sentences.

September 20, 2019

Ireland: overcrowding an issue as prison inmate numbers rise 11% in two years

News

Europe Overcrowding Ireland

The Irish Prison Service said more people are being sent to prison and overcrowding has once again become an issue in Irish prisons. The number of inmates has increased by 11% in the last two years, with more than 4,000 people now in custody on a regular basis. Remand prisoners have increased by mo…

September 20, 2019

Argentina: dans une prison, "le rugby a été mon exutoire"

News

South America Argentina

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

September 20, 2019

China: torture and death in a chinese prison

News

Asia Torture China

There’s another aspect to Benxi that is nothing to be proud of—it is home to one of the most brutal prisons in the country, especially for Falun Gong adherents.

September 20, 2019

USA: a college education in prison opens unexpected path to freedom

News

North America United States

Cal State LA’s Prison Graduation Initiative is the state’s only public B.A. program sending professors to teach behind bars. College programs like it were once far more common, but today advocates are hopeful the political winds have shifted enough to bring public dollars back to prison education.

September 19, 2019

Bolivia: “Libros por rejas” busca incentivar la lectura en las cárceles para reinserción de presos

News

South America Bolivia

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

September 19, 2019

Bangladesh: Biometric prisoner database to enhance prison management

News

Asia Bangladesh

Bangladesh has developed a biometric-enabled prisoner database management system in partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

September 18, 2019

Spain: imputado por defender presos

News

Europe Spain

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

September 18, 2019

Spain: alertan del elevado número de casos de enfermedad mental en las cárceles

News

Europe Mental health Spain

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

September 17, 2019

Belgium: la prison de Mons, photographiée par des détenus et exposée sur les murs d'enceinte

News

Culture Europe Belgium

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