Welcome to Penal Reform International's monthly e-newsletter, a round-up of PRI and other penal reform news from around the world and a variety of criminal justice and human rights resources.
The views expressed in the news items below are not necessarily those of PRI.
Penal Reform International is deeply saddened to hear of the loss of Professor Sir Nigel Rodley, a founding member of the organisation, after he passed away on 25 January 2017 in Colchester, UK. Sir Nigel Rodley was a long-standing and dedicated supporter of PRI, most recently as a Board Member and in multilateral efforts to improve standards for the treatment of prisoners. Read more.
Photo: Sir Nigel Rodley with PRI and other delegates at the Intergovernmental Expert Group on the revision of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners in Cape Town, 2015.
Denyys M. Odhiambo, a human rights officer and trainer with the Kenyan Prison Service, tells PRI about his experiences in providing training on the UN Bangkok Rules to his colleagues in Kenya.
An adaption of PRI's online course, this training resource is designed to support stakeholders to put the UN Bangkok Rules on women offenders and prisoners into practice. It draws on global good practice and research findings to provide practical guidance, using exercises and case studies. The ten modules take the learner through key themes, case studies, exercises and quizzes. The publication was supported by the Thailand Institute of Justice.
The latest edition of PRI's quarterly Bangkok Rules E-Bulletin is now available. it contains a round-up of news and developments from PRI and others around the world on women in detention, and the implementation of the UN Bangkok Rules. To be kept in the know, subscribe to the e-bulletin here.
This Eurasian Harm Reduction Network resource is primarily tailored to the needs of women who use drugs and is targeted at this particular focus group. The tool is also intended to help those who work with communities of people who use drugs, including social workers, health care professionals, and providers of harm reduction services as an advocacy tool for fairer drug policies.
This thematic report of the Norwegian Parliamentary Ombudsman, the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), focuses on women in detention. The report presents a broad picture of the conditions and helps to establish a knowledge base for action in order to ensure that women deprived of their liberty receive equal treatment and the same protection as men.
It reviews current trends towards abolition and highlights relevant international and regional human rights norms and standards and examples of good practice. The updated guide is currently only available in English. The second edition of the guide is available in French and Russian.
This new report from US-based organisation, The Sentencing Project demonstrates that, in the US, the number of people serving life sentences has more than quadrupled since 1984, and identifies the factors producing longer prison terms for this population. The report also makes recommendations for policymakers and parole practitioners.
In its Grand Chamber judgment in the case of Khamtokhu and Aksenchik v. Russia, the court rejected a complaint against Russia and ruled that life sentencing in the country is not discriminatory. The court found that the justification for the difference in treatment between the applicants and certain other categories of offenders, namely to promote principles of justice and humanity, had been legitimate.
On 27 January, PRI joined experts at a meeting convened by the Association for the Prevention of Torture together with the Anti-Torture Initiative of the Washington College of Law to discuss the proposal of former Special Rapporteur on torture, Juan Mendez, for a universal protocol on humane investigative interviewing. The protocol would set out minimum standards for non-coercive methods and safeguards to protecting detainees from torture and ill-treatment. Because, as Mendez writes in his report to the United Nations General Assembly, history and science offer no evidence on the strategic effectiveness of harsh questioning techniques. Read more on APT’s website.
See also the response of Nils Melzer, the current UN Special Rapporteur on torture, to US President Trump’s remarks on torture and ‘black sites’.
This article in the International Journal of Drug Policy provides a snapshot of public attitudes towards drug policies in nine Latin American countries. In recent years Latin American countries have increasingly rejected the traditional prohibitionist paradigm of drug policy, reflecting its failure to reduce either consumption or trafficking.
Experts from a number of regions and civil society representatives shared experiences and viewpoints on the challenges and practices with prison rehabilitation. Delegates reviewed a draft of the UNODC ‘Roadmap on Prison-based Rehabilitation programmes’, which will guide national authorities on how to initiate, enhance and manage rehabilitation activities in prisons. Read more.
Thisarticle discusses how poor conditions in prisons in Hungary and Romania have contributed to a 23% year-on-year rise in the number of applications to theEuropean Court of Human Rights.
UNODC video on prevention of violent extremism in Kenyan and Somali prisons
In this video by UNODC, training staff and proper classification are identified as key elements for preventing violent extremism in prisons.
Ongoing unrest in Brazilian prisons
Many Brazilian prisons and jails are severely overcrowded, and the lack of adequate state control within the prison grounds leaves prisoners vulnerable to violence and recruitment by gangs. More than 120 prisoners have been killed in the first 16 days of 2017, during riots in the northern and northeastern states of Amazonas, Roraima and Rio Grande do Norte. A selection of recent news stories on the crisis:
In a recent judgement, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the use of metal cages in court proceedings in Russia constitutes degrading treatment.
First transgender woman held in pre-trial detention in Kazakhstan
For the first time a transgender woman is being held in pre-trial detention in Kazakhstan, drawing significant press attention. The woman was arrested on charges of blackmail and, if found guilty, will face 7 to 15 years imprisonment in a male prison. PRI is working with a partner organisation who is supporting the case, and specifically assessing the risks LGBTI prisoners face.
In December 2016, a law was passed in Kazakhstan to establish a probation service, an issue that PRI's office in Central Asia have been working on for the past 5 years. Kazakhstan have also adopted the country’s new Strategy on Reintegration of ex-prisoners and probation service clients. PRI will continue to support efforts towards a probation system, which will be established in four stages.
