• US: Prison Officials Thwart Compassionate Release
    Nov 30, 2012
    The Federal Bureau of Prisons blocks all but a few federal prisoners from compassionate release, Human Rights Watch and Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) said in a report released today. The 128-page report is the first comprehensive examination of how compassionate release in the federal system works.
  • US: Teens in Solitary Confinement
    Oct 10, 2012

    Young people are held in solitary confinement in jails and prisons across the United States, often for weeks or months at a time.

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Prisons

  • US: Prison Officials Thwart Compassionate Release
    Nov 30, 2012
    The Federal Bureau of Prisons blocks all but a few federal prisoners from compassionate release, Human Rights Watch and Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) said in a report released today. The 128-page report is the first comprehensive examination of how compassionate release in the federal system works.
  • US: Teens in Solitary Confinement
    Oct 10, 2012

    Young people are held in solitary confinement in jails and prisons across the United States, often for weeks or months at a time.

  • Invisible Prisoners
    Sep 3, 2012
    JURIST Guest Columnist Katherine Todrys of the Health and Human Rights Division of Human Rights Watch recounts her experiences researching disease transmission and living standards in African prisons. She calls for sweeping criminal justice reforms to address the systemic problems of overcrowding, human rights abuses and wrongful imprisonment.
  • The Problem with Iran's Proposed Penal Code
    Sep 3, 2012
    The proposed amendments continue to mandate the death penalty for “crimes” such as consensual sexual conduct outside of marriage, drinking alcohol, and apostasy (even though no law prohibits apostasy). Many other objectionable provisions under the current penal code remain in the amended version, including punishments, among them death, for alleged violations of Iran’s broadly-worded national security laws.
  • Iraq: Lack of Transparency in 26 Executions
    Aug 31, 2012
    Iraq carried out at least 26 executions on August 27 and 29, 2012, but provided few details about the identity of those executed or the charges against them. The Justice Ministry has announced 96 executions so far in 2012.
  • Bahrain: Free Injured Protesters for Urgent Medical Care
    Jun 27, 2012
    Bahraini authorities should quash the sentences of two protesters unfairly convicted by military courts for participating in pro-democracy demonstrations in February and March 2011, Human Rights Watch said today. Both men are in need of urgent medical treatment due to the long-term effects of injuries from security forces’ gunfire during the demonstrations. Their families say they have been denied the medical care they need.
  • UN Human Rights Council: Escalating Levels of Violence in Syria
    Jun 26, 2012
  • South Sudan: Arbitrary Detentions, Dire Prison Conditions
    Jun 21, 2012
    Flawed processes, unlawful detentions, and dire conditions in South Sudan’s prisons reflect the urgent need to improve the new nation’s fledgling justice system.
  • US: Look Critically at Widespread Use of Solitary Confinement
    Jun 18, 2012
    Human Rights Watch submitted this written statement to the Senate Committe on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights, for their hearing on solitary confinement. Based on years of research and analysis, we are convinced the unnecessary, counter-productive, and devastating use of this harsh form of confinement in many US prisons cannot be squared with respect for human rights.
  • Haiti: Duvalier Ruling Disappoints Justice
    Jan 31, 2012
    A Haitian judge’s decision to dismiss the case against former president-for-life Jean-Claude Duvalier for grave human rights violations ignores Haiti’s international obligation to prosecute such crimes.
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