Work
North America
Health
Material conditions
Violence
Social ties
Work
United States
Censorship, threats, and stints in solitary are among the acts of retaliation prison reporters face. Busby was sentenced to seventy-five years in 1999. Since then, he’s worked as a writer and journalist, including a stint as a staff reporter for the Texas prison newspaper The Echo.
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.
Crises
Women
Middle East
Health
Mental health
Material conditions
Torture
Violence
Work
Syria
Syrian journalist Hanin Gebran details the horrific conditions she endured in Assad’s prisons, shedding light on the gendered violence and torture faced by women journalists under the regime.
Oceania
Material conditions
Rehabilitation
Work
New Zealand
Incarcerated people’ pay rates need to be increased, say reform advocates, who have labelled the current rates of 20 to 60 cents an hour as practically slave labour. The rates have not been touched for 20 years.
Europe
Activities
Social ties
Alternatives
Work
United Kingdom
Home detention would replace prison for some people if proposals from the Bar Council are accepted by the ongoing sentencing review being led by former Conservative justice secretary David Gauke.
Europe
Health
Mental health
Material conditions
Social ties
Work
United Kingdom
I was one of a group of Just Stop Oil activists given the longest-ever UK sentences for peaceful protest after blocking a motorway. Six months into my incarceration, this is what I have learned.
Culture
North America
Elderly prisoners
Access to legal rights
Health
Social ties
Rehabilitation
Work
United States
Following decades of mass incarceration,the proportion of older people in prison has increased since the early 1990s. Nearly a quarter of people behind bars in federal and state prisons are over age 50. That’s five times the proportion of the prison population in 1991.
United States: incarcerated firefighters battle L.A. blazes while California upholds prison slavery
News
Crises
North America
Justice
Health
Alternatives
Rehabilitation
Work
United States
Last fall, California voters rejected Proposition 6, which would have brought an end to modern-day slavery in the state’s prisons. Not even three months later, more than 1,000 incarcerated Californians stood on the front lines of the fires blazing through LA, risking their lives for minuscule pay.
Culture
Asia
Overcrowding
Social ties
Rehabilitation
Work
India
While India has made strides in prison reforms, education for prisoners remains an area with significant potential. The National Policy on Prison Reforms 2017 emphasizes the importance of education and skill development within prisons.
Prisons in transition
Analysis
Crises
North America
Europe
Oceania
Facilities
Activities
Rehabilitation
Work
The climate is changing and the environment is deteriorating. Prison administrations are being forced to radically review the way they operate. How are they doing so far? Panorama.
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.
North America
Justice
Material conditions
Work
United States
Forced labor under the threat of punishment. Hourly wages under a dollar an hour. Having to choose between purchasing food or personal items. These are the conditions facing incarcerated New Yorkers that advocates say are why the state should amend its constitution to bar involuntary labor.
In prison, under bombardment
Portfolio
Crises
Europe
Material conditions
Facilities
Torture
Activities
Work
Ukraine
Photographer Cory Wright travelled to Ukraine in September 2023. While there, he captured glimpses of life during wartime in the penitentiary centres of Mykolaiv, Kryvyi Rih, Kharkiv and Iziaslav.
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
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.