Information, topic by topic, on prisons across the world

April 14, 2022

Germany: walling up madness

Analysis

Europe Access to legal rights Discipline Mental health Drugs Material conditions Germany

Germany is a federal republic divided into 16 Länder. The Ministry of Justice oversees prison health care. Federal law does not provide for any mental health care in prison. The Länder implement treatment measures. Significant variations have been observed from one territory and facility to another…

April 14, 2022

France: walling up madness

Analysis

Europe Access to legal rights Discipline Mental health Drugs Material conditions France

France has 187 prisons. Since 1994, prison health care falls under the authority of the Ministry of Health. Prison mental healthcare was the subject of a major reform in 2002.

March 24, 2022

Ireland: Prisoner takes court action over period of ‘almost solitary confinement'

News

Europe Justice Ireland

Constitutional rights breached of man jailed for assault on ex-girlfriend, court told

March 24, 2022

Russia: Alexei Navalny sentenced to 9 years in prison

News

Europe Justice Russia

Russian opposition leader and prisoner of conscience Aleksei Navalny has been sentenced to 9 years in prison for his overt criticism of Vladimir Putin and peaceful political activism.

March 23, 2022

España: La realidad de la reinserción social llega al Teatro Principal de Vitoria

News

Culture Europe Spain

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

March 22, 2022

Russie : Alexeï Navalny condamné à neuf ans de prison supplémentaires

News

Europe Justice Russia

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

March 18, 2022

Ukraine: prisons in the war

Interview

Crises Europe Violence Ukraine

Dozens of Ukrainian prisons are under the control of Russian forces. Prisoners can hear the bombing from their closed cells. What is the fate of ordinary prisoners during the conflict?

March 16, 2022

Belgium: prison within prison

Interview

Europe Discipline Mental health Material conditions Belgium

When can someone be sent to solitary confinement? A new report strongly criticises the use of solitary confinement and the conditions of detention observed there. Interview.

March 9, 2022

Russia/Ukraine: Prisoners of war must be protected from public curiosity under Geneva Convention

News

Europe Ukraine

Prisoners of war in the Russian invasion of Ukraine must have their rights respected under the Third Geneva Convention, Amnesty International said today.

March 9, 2022

Russia: Parliament approves jail for ‘fake’ war reports

News

Europe Russia

Novaya Gazeta newspaper removes content and BBC suspends Russian operations after draft bill passes.

March 9, 2022

Russia: From prison, Navalny urges Russians to rise up and ‘stop the war’

News

Europe Russia

The jailed anti-Kremlin activist branded Putin an “obviously insane czar” in a string of tweets from behind bars.

March 9, 2022

Ukraine: prisoners with combat experience will be released to help defend the nation against Russian invasion

News

Europe Ukraine

Zelensky said the decision was ‘not easy from the moral point of view’but he stressed that the defence of the nation was now the highest priority.

March 7, 2022

Switzerland: the role of forensic psychiatric expertise

Interview

Europe Access to legal rights Justice Health Mental health Switzerland

Psychiatric expertise has grown in the last few years, especially in assessing recidivism risk. Can risk really be predicted? Interview.

February 24, 2022

France: Psychiatry at the service of security

Interview

Europe Health Mental health Suicide France

Fresnes, Fleury-Mérogis, la Santé: for 25 years, Cyrille Canetti witnessed the shift of prison psychiatry. (Critical) interview about psychiatry and prison.

February 24, 2022

España: La cárcel desde la mirada del Cine

News

Culture Europe Spain

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

February 24, 2022

Ukraine: The prison population should be included in evacuation plans

News

Europe Justice Health Violence Ukraine

A Ukrainian organisation defending human rights shares its concerns regarding the situation of prisoners.

February 11, 2022

España : Instituciones Penitenciarias quiere trasladar 200 presos de la península a Ceuta

News

Europe Facilities Spain

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

February 10, 2022

Austria: through the lens of the incarcerated

Investigations

Coronavirus Europe Foreign prisoners Overcrowding Alternatives Rehabilitation Work Austria

Prisons might be one of the most severely underreported spheres in our otherwise heavily investigated world. Journalist Sarah Yolanda Koss dives into Austrian prison issues.

February 9, 2022

France: poor prisons

Interview

Europe Justice Material conditions Work France

How does prison contribute to poverty? Emmaus France and the Catholic Relief Services (le Secours Catholique) have published a report on the issue. It includes 25 recommendations to help improve the situation.

January 24, 2022

Suisse : Les oubliés de la dispute carcérale

News

Europe Switzerland

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

January 20, 2022

Suisse : Champ-Dollon, prison impossible à réformer

News

Europe Switzerland

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

January 18, 2022

Years in the Row

Analysis Thematic paper

Africa Women Asia Europe Minors Foreign prisoners Discipline Health Mental health Drugs Material conditions Overcrowding Death penalty Torture

Some people fear death every morning. Others are sentenced to death in countries that no longer carry out executions. At least 483 executions were documented in 2020. Prison Insider publishes an overview of practices in nine countries that have not abolished the death penalty.

January 18, 2022

Belarus: detention conditions of people sentenced to death

Analysis

Europe Access to legal rights Material conditions Death penalty Torture Social ties Belarus

Belarus is the only European country where the death penalty is applied. Data relating to death sentences and executions are confidential. The time between trial and execution is very short. The country has been condemned several times for failing to respect the right to a fair trial.

January 11, 2022

United Kingdom: seen in the press / 2022

News

Europe United Kingdom

Violence, acts of protest, prison conditions, justice reforms: find out what is new about prisons and justice in this country. Prison Insider monitors the press on a regular basis.