Long-term prisoners
Central America and the Caribbean
Foreign prisoners
Long-term prisoners
Access to legal rights
Health
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Torture
Social ties
El Salvador
Hundreds of Venezuelans who were deported to El Salvador from the United States in recent days could face long or indefinite detention in a prison system rife with human rights abuses, according to attorneys and experts on the region.
A chain of imprisonment
Testimonial
Middle East
Long-term prisoners
Material conditions
Death penalty
Torture
Violence
Work
Iran
Soheil Arabi is an Iranian blogger and photojournalist. He has been imprisoned for several years for his activism. Some time ago, Soheil contacted us to tell his story. We share it with you here.
Dominican Republic: officials cram thousands of people facing no charges into overcrowded prisons
News
Central America and the Caribbean
Pre-trial detention
Long-term prisoners
Access to legal rights
Health
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Dominican Republic
They’re known as “frog men,” incarcerated people who are forced to sleep on prison floors, often next to overflowing toilets or holes in the ground that serve as one. Thousands of them are crammed into the country’s severely overcrowded prisons, some operating at seven times their capacity.
United Kingdom: ‘I stole a mobile phone almost 20 years ago – I’ve spent half my life in prison’
News
Europe
Long-term prisoners
Justice
Mental health
Suicide
Violence
United Kingdom
A father who stole a mobile phone when he was in the grips of a drug addiction is still languishing in prison almost 20 years later under an “inhumane” indefinite jail term.
North America
Long-term prisoners
Access to legal rights
Mental health
Social ties
United States
Colorado lawmakers are trying to make it a right — rather than a privilege — for people in the state’s prisons to receive visitation while incarcerated. Now, they can have their visitation privilege revoked if they violate the Department of Corrections‘ rules.
Europe
Long-term prisoners
Access to legal rights
Justice
Mental health
Suicide
Alternatives
United Kingdom
A United Nations torture tsar has said British incarcerated people trapped on indefinite jail terms are probably “being detained arbitrarily” after The Independent revealed six in 10 are being blocked from moving to open jails.
Crises
Europe
Long-term prisoners
Mental health
Material conditions
United Kingdom
New data claims that imprisoned people and staff at Channings Wood Prison near Newton Abbot are being failed by a prison system in crisis.
Europe
Long-term prisoners
Access to legal rights
Justice
Torture
United Kingdom
An incarcerated person who brought a legal challenge in April 2023 alleging he had been held in solitary confinement in England for more than two years has said he remains in isolation 20 months later because the judge has not given her decision in the case.
Without a roof or a choice
Analysis
Thematic paper
North America
Europe
Long-term prisoners
Access to legal rights
Alternatives
Rehabilitation
People leaving prison, who are often in precarious situations and stigmatised, are hit hard by the housing crisis. But without a stable habitation, what hope do they have for building a future in society? Four articles explore the problems they face and offer ideas for reflection and solutions.
Preparing for release
Analysis
North America
Europe
Long-term prisoners
Access to legal rights
Alternatives
Rehabilitation
(2) Release from prison does not occur the day the person walks out the prison door. It requires months of prior preparation. The transition to freedom and accessing habitation are part of a complex journey that includes tasks ranging from obtaining documents to restoring social rights.
The door opens
Analysis
North America
Europe
Long-term prisoners
Access to legal rights
Alternatives
Rehabilitation
(3) The day of release often arrives unexpectedly. For many prison leavers, it marks the beginning of a period of homelessness with occasional temporary solutions. Although systems exist to provide assistance in finding a place to stay, the spots come at a cost.
Prison under the skin
Analysis
North America
Europe
Long-term prisoners
Access to legal rights
Mental health
Rehabilitation
(4) Time spent in detention has a lasting impact on bodies and minds. It leaves persistent wounds and scars that make it harder to re-enter society and affect how people occupy their space.
Oceania
Long-term prisoners
Health
Mental health
New Zealand
Contracts for the Improving Mental Health Service is due to end from June 2025. Mental health workers fear some imprisoned people who are suicidal, psychotic or suffering other serious psychological problems will be left without support when their contracts end.
United Arab Emirates: dozens of people sentenced to life in prison in mass trial criticized abroad
News
Middle East
Long-term prisoners
Access to legal rights
Justice
United Arab Emirates
A mass trial in the United Arab Emirates of dissidents that was widely criticized abroad has sentenced 43 people to life in prison, while others received other prison terms.
Türkiye: where art forms converge
Insights
Focus
Women
Asia
Long-term prisoners
Health
Torture
Violence
Work
North Korea
Between early 2020 and August 2022, there were approximately 40 deaths among the 500 or so female inmates serving life sentences at the camp.
Europe
Long-term prisoners
Justice
Suicide
Torture
United Kingdom
Nearly 3,000 prisoners in England and Wales remain in jail under Imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentences today, and many others who have been released face the ongoing prospect of immediate recall to prison.
Türkiye: prisons in 2024
Analysis
Pre-trial detention
Women
Europe
Minors
Foreign prisoners
LGBTQI
Long-term prisoners
Mental health
Material conditions
Facilities
Suicide
Torture
Activities
Social ties
Alternatives
Work
Turkey
All there is to know about Turkish prisons in 2024. Key figures, life in detention, references: discover all the data gathered by Prison Insider.
Côte d'Ivoire: prisons in 2025
Analysis
Africa
Pre-trial detention
Women
Minors
Foreign prisoners
LGBTQI
Long-term prisoners
Mental health
Material conditions
Facilities
Suicide
Torture
Activities
Social ties
Alternatives
Work
Côte d’Ivoire
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
Switzerland: a lack of humanity
Testimonial
Europe
Long-term prisoners
Health
Mental health
Material conditions
Switzerland
Iscu V., a Romanian national, has been incarcerated in Switzerland since 2015. In addition to receiving his sentence, Iscu falls under the lifelong incarceration measure set out in the Swiss Criminal Code. He describes incessant noise, frequent prison transfers and difficulty accessing medical care…
Incarcerated for life
Analysis
Inside Outside
Africa
North America
South America
Asia
Europe
Middle East
Long-term prisoners
Prison Insider, represented by Clara Grisot, contributed twelve compositions to the book InsideOutside to articulate, in a few words, the current challenges of prison life. First piece: life imprisonment.
North America
Long-term prisoners
Activities
United States
We’re all too willing to argue about the inhumanity of executions. What about those of us who are still alive?
South Africa: prisons in 2023
Analysis
Africa
Pre-trial detention
Women
Minors
Foreign prisoners
LGBTQI
Long-term prisoners
Mental health
Material conditions
Facilities
Suicide
Death penalty
Torture
Activities
Social ties
Alternatives
Work
South Africa
All there is to know about South African prisons in 2023. Key figures, life in detention, references: discover all the data gathered by Prison Insider.
Europe
Long-term prisoners
Mental health
Suicide
United Kingdom
Nine self-inflicted deaths of prisoners serving IPP sentences in 2022 was highest number since controversial introduction.