Penal Reform International (PRI) is shocked to learn of the arbitrary arrest and detention of Dr Amin Mekki Medani on the evening of 6 December by the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS). Dr Medani served 10 years on the board of PRI from 2004 until earlier this year. Dr Medani, a distinguished human […]
The four year project starting in December 2014 will aim to reform the penitentiary system in line with international human rights; develop the capacity of civil society groups to initiate projects to support people in the criminal justice system and to protect the rights of prisoners; and implement alternative sanctions and diversion mechanisms at community […]
Use of life and long-term sentences has been growing globally. In 2012, of the 2.3 million prisoners in US prisons, 159,520 were serving life sentences, including almost 50,000 life without parole. Nancy Mullane was a winner in PRI’s journalism competition held as part of our death penalty abolition programme in 2014. While the competition was judged on the basis […]
Uganda has ended its opposition to a global moratorium on the use of the death penalty. At the UN General Assembly on 21 November 2014, Uganda abstained on the measure, changing after seven years of voting against. The country is one of ten where PRI is working to abolish the death penalty and implement humane alternative sanctions. […]
On 3 and 4 November, PRI’s Middle East and North Africa office co-organised a large international conference with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and under the patronage of his Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan. This conference marked the end of a three year project (2011-2014) funded by the Swedish International […]
The event was jointly organised with the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, the Christian Social Service and the Belarusian Association of Journalists. Over 80 people attended the conference including experts from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine and Poland, as well as government representatives, diplomats, lawyers, and human rights defenders. This conference was held under a PRI project funded by […]
On Tuesday this week, PRI took part in an Expert Consultation on Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty hosted by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Professor Juan Méndez, at the American University Washington College of Law in Washington DC. 30 experts attended the consultation to discuss legal standards, best practices, and an array of topics […]
PRI’s International Conference on ‘Criminal Justice Reform and Human Rights: Recent Trends’ opened today (3 November) in Amman under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Alhussein of Jordan. The two day conference is organised by Penal Reform International (MENA) in collaboration with the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Public Security […]
In 2014, PRI held an international competition for the best investigative journalism on the death penalty and/or life imprisonment. Nancy was awarded the English language prize for two episodes of Life of the Law, an online radio magazine covering legal issues: One Reporter on California’s Death Row, and Jailhouse Lawyers. Jailhouse Lawyers explores a little known anomaly in the US legal landscape. Although […]
Belarus is the only country in Europe that continues to carry out the death penalty. The process is shrouded in secrecy. Not even families are necessarily informed about the time of execution or the place of burial. While they are not permitted to attend executions or to visit prisoners on death row, there are journalists who are committed to piecing together […]