In this guest blog, Sabrina Mahtani, co-founder of the Sierra Leonean NGO, AdvocAid, writes about a woman who was sentenced to death in 2010 when she was 17 for killing her abusive former boyfriend. Her sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 2011 and although her appeal was heard in 2014 – 2015 she has still not received a […]
21st March 2017
Photo: The terrorist suspect being interviewed by Norwegian police. Provided with kind permission by the author. In 2011, ten years after a new approach of questioning criminal suspects was introduced in Norway called ‘Investigative Interviewing’, the country was struck by a terrorist attack which killed 77 people. In the aftermath of the attack, Asbjørn Rachlew, […]
14th March 2017
2016 год для двух городов Казахстана – Алматы и Актобе – запомнится в красном цвете террористической угрозы высшей степени. Людям пришлось пережить атаки радикалов. Пережив панический страх и ужас, люди потребовали от властей незамедлительной реакции. Все чаще в СМИ и на страницах социальных сетей разворачивались словесные баталии. И все чаще результатом их становился слоган: «Смерть […]
16th February 2017
In this expert blog, Gen Sander of Harm Reduction International states that the global state of harm reduction in prisons is inadequate, unreliable, and unlawful. She argues that the provision of good-quality and accessible harm reduction, both inside and outside of prisons, is a legally binding human rights obligation, not just a policy option. The […]
6th February 2017
In an interview with Mr Denyys M. Odhiambo, a human rights officer and trainer with the Kenyan Prison Service, PRI asked about his experiences in providing training on the UN Bangkok Rules to his colleagues in Kenya. What is your role within the Kenya prison service? I am a human rights officer/trainer with the Kenyan […]
23rd January 2017
In 2015, PRI conducted some preliminary internal research into plea-bargains – an agreement by which the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for a concession from the prosecutor, usually a lesser charge or a reduced sentence. This is agreed upon in advance, approved by a judge, and a full trial is avoided. Over 30 […]
9th January 2017
You may be lucky enough to have a lawyer represent you in court, but in many countries, you may struggle to hear what they say or to communicate with them. Over the last 20 years, docks, where the accused is located during trial, have become more ‘secure’, with some enclosed in glass or even behind wire […]
15th December 2016
It is thought that roughly 6% of the UK’s female prison population are pregnant at any one time. Many women learn of their pregnancy on reception to prison. The population is slight but there is limited research globally looking at women’s experiences of pregnancy, birth and becoming a mother as a prisoner. My interest in […]
7th December 2016
In recent decades, there has been a noticeable trend towards larger prisons of 1,000 prisoners plus. In the USA, the trend has been particularly prevalent – with around 3,500 prisoners per prison in California for example, but other countries have followed a similar path. In this expert blog for PRI, David Skarbek, Senior Lecturer in […]
24th November 2016
In 2014, PRI embarked on an innovative two-year pilot project in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania to improve access to justice by targeting the development of community service systems as an alternative to the overuse of imprisonment, funded by UKAID. Omar Phoenix Khan, who led on the project, shares his reflections now the final evaluation is […]
23rd November 2016