News
New PRI project tackles violence against children in detention in Europe
Next month (March 2023) PRI is embarking on a new project under PRI’s Europe programme to improve monitoring and addressing of violence against children in detention in the EU. Funded by the European Commission’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme, the Data for Monitoring the Safety of Imprisoned Children – Data MOSAIC project will […]
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Training in Hungary on non-discrimination in community-based sanctions
On 16-18 November, a diverse group of nearly 70 Hungarian criminal justice stakeholders gathered in Budapest for training workshops and knowledge sharing delivered as part of PRI’s ongoing work in Europe. Led by our partners at the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, the three-day event included presentations on international standards, good practices, experiences and considerations of specific […]
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“The system is just not ready” – Promoting alternatives to imprisonment in Hungary
Is strict penal policy good? What can the Hungarian criminal justice system learn from other countries’ use of non-custodial sanctions? Would the introduction of sentencing guidelines change practice and reduce discrimination? Why are available non-custodial sanctions not used more? How can we address common barriers to better use of community-based sanctions? What can we do […]
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Criminal justice stakeholders come together for improved non-custodial sanctions in Portugal
As part of ongoing work in Europe, PRI traveled to Coimbra, Portugal on 4 and 5 November to meet with criminal justice stakeholders and our partner the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra for discussions on ways to make non-custodial sanctions and measures in the country more readily available for all, supporting flexibility, responsivity and fairness in their use and implementation, also in times of crises such as the […]
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Advisory Council established with distinguished experts appointed to support PRI’s work
Penal Reform International (PRI) has announced the establishment of an Advisory Council and is honoured that eight distinguished experts have been elected as the first members. The Council will strengthen the organisation’s impact and networks to achieve PRI’s ambitions for 2020-2023. Hon’ble Justice Muhammad Imman Ali, a Judge of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and […]
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People in detention are forgotten or ignored in COVID-19 responses, says new PRI briefing
A new briefing, Coronavirus: Preventing harm and human rights violations in criminal justice systems, highlights the impact of responses to COVID-19 on people in detention – amounting to 11 million people – who have been left behind, ignored or forgotten. Penal Reform International exposes a lack of systematic testing and data collection in prisons across the globe, which means unknown numbers of people in detention and staff are falling ill and dying […]
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Revised European Prison Rules provide greater human rights protection for people detained across the continent
Yesterday marked an important milestone for prison systems across Europe: the revised set of European Prison Rules (EPR) were adopted by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers. The Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) and Penal Reform International (PRI) welcome this important revision of the rules (and their commentary). It is instrumental that […]
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UN Human Rights Council takes action to tackle racism and police brutality
George Floyd’s killing in the United States city of Minneapolis in Minnesota has shed light on systemic racism within law enforcement agencies across the US. Such discrimination is a global problem, as we have documented in Global Prison Trends 2020, minority groups are over-represented in many criminal justice systems, seeing higher rates of arrest, pre-trial […]
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Webinar: Launch of Global Prison Trends 2020
Prisons and justice systems are facing unprecedented challenges brought by the COVID-19 global pandemic. At this launch event for PRI’s new report Global Prison Trends 2020, international leaders and experts will address chronic issues that have led to this human rights and public health crisis with people in prison being so vulnerable – and critically, […]
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Our ambitions for 2020-2023
This year PRI is celebrating 30 years of accomplishments in developing and promoting fair and effective criminal justice systems across the world. Today, we set our trajectory for the coming decade, launching our new strategy for 2020-2023. The decade we are entering will determine whether the world is able to sustain and promote human rights, […]