Information, topic by topic, on prisons across the world

March 13, 2019

Costa Rica habilita espacios en cárceles para mejorar vida de mujeres presas

News

Central America and the Caribbean Costa Rica

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

March 13, 2019

Uruguay: cárceles “pobres” e “inhumanas”

News

South America Torture New Zealand

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

March 13, 2019

Peru: los derechos humanos en las cárceles

News

South America Peru

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

March 13, 2019

Swaziland: up to 1,000 prisoners could be freed from jail early

News

Africa Eswatini

As many as 1,000 prisoners in Swaziland / eSwatini could be released from jail before the end of their sentences because the government cannot afford to keep them locked up. The move follows reports that His Majesty’s Correctional Services that run jails in the kingdom could not afford to feed all…

March 13, 2019

Malaysia to keep death penalty, but no longer mandatory

News

Malaysia

Malaysia has rowed back on an earlier plan to completely repeal the death penalty, saying that while the government will abolish mandatory capital punishment, it will leave it for courts to decide whether a person convicted of a serious crime will hang. The mandatory death penalty for 11 criminal o…

March 13, 2019

Bolivia: cárceles, el interpelado es el estado

News

South America Bolivia

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

March 13, 2019

UK: ‘In probation, we’re poorly paid and the caseloads are unmanageable’

News

Europe United Kingdom

Steve Brown has just completed three months on home detention curfew, having left prison at the end of November. Things are looking up. He has had his electronic tag removed and last week moved into new supported accommodation. “I’m in a good place,” he says, “but no thanks to the probation service…

March 12, 2019

USA: federal prisons official used prisons labor

News

North America United States

The Bureau of Prison’s South Central regional director utilized incarcerated people from a Texas prison to work on a landscaping project at his church. A high-ranking Federal Bureau of Prisons official used incarcerated people from a Texas prison to provide labor for his church to finish a landscap…

March 12, 2019

USA: Gov. Newsom to order halt to California’s death penalty

News

Death penalty United States

Gov. Gavin Newsom is suspending the death penalty in California, calling it discriminatory and immoral, and is granting reprieves to the 737 condemned inmates on the nation’s largest Death Row.

March 12, 2019

Bolivia: comenzó el registro biométrico de 19.000 presos en cárceles

News

South America Bolivia

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

March 11, 2019

Russia: allegations of torture in the Northern Caucasian region

News

Asia Europe Torture Russia

The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has today issued a public statement on the Russian Federation urging the Russian authorities to take decisive action to eradicate the phenomenon of ill-treatment by law enforcement…

March 11, 2019

Iran says it has freed 51,000 prisoners

News

Middle East Iran

An official said 51,000 Iranian prisoners have so far been released under the recent clemency granted by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution’s victory.

March 11, 2019

Spain: brain zap prison experiment suspended

News

Europe Spain

Government officials in Spain have suspended tests to see if zapping the brains of prisoners can make them less aggressive, following an exclusive report by New Scientist on the experiment. The research, involving inmates at Huelva prison, was scheduled to begin this month. The day after New Scient…

March 9, 2019

UK: des prisons testent la reconnaissance faciale et oculaire

News

Europe Drugs United Kingdom

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

March 8, 2019

France: la grève dure, les détenus endurent

News

Europe France

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

March 6, 2019

France: Inmate Michaël Chiolo wounds guards at France's Condé-sur-Sarthe prison

News

Europe Violence France

A prison inmate in northern France has seriously wounded two guards in a knife attack, in what French ministers have described as a “terrorist incident”.

March 5, 2019

Americas: más presos o más justicia

News

Argentina

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

March 5, 2019

Kenya: Kodiaga prison sewage flows into River Saka

News

Africa Kenya

Kenya Prisons Commissioner-General Isaiah Osugo has admitted that the main correctional facility in Kisumu has been emitting raw sewage into a river from which residents fetch drinking water. Mr Osugo toured Kodiaga Maximum Security Prison on Tuesday alongside prisons bosses in Nyanza region. He ad…

March 5, 2019

China trabaja en crear cárceles inteligentes

News

Asia China

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

March 5, 2019

France: le grand débat dans une prison de femmes à Versailles

News

Women Europe France

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

March 5, 2019

USA: JPMorgan to stop financing private prisons and detention centers after protests

News

United States

“We will no longer bank the private prison industry,” a company spokesperson said.

March 4, 2019

Costa Rica: el subcomité prevención de tortura inspeccionará cárceles

News

Central America and the Caribbean Torture Costa Rica

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

March 4, 2019

USA: Inmate who delivered baby in prison cell sues state for denying medical care

News

United States

Baby delivered in toilet after calls for help were ignored , suit alleges

March 4, 2019

Ecuador: los controles en las cárceles son frágiles

News

Central America and the Caribbean Ecuador

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