• Syria: Visit Reveals Torture Chambers
    May 17, 2013
    Government security branches in Raqqa city hold documents and potential physical evidence indicating that detainees were arbitrarily detained and tortured there while the city was under government control. Human Rights Watch researchers visited the State Security and Military Intelligence facilities in Raqqa, now under the de facto control of local armed opposition groups, in late April 2013.
  • Israel: End Abusive Detention Practices
    Feb 24, 2013
    Israel should immediately charge or release Palestinians detained without charge or trial for prolonged periods and stop denying them and their lawyers access to evidence of their alleged crimes.
More news »

Reports

More >>

Prison and Jail Conditions

  • Syria: Visit Reveals Torture Chambers
    May 17, 2013
    Government security branches in Raqqa city hold documents and potential physical evidence indicating that detainees were arbitrarily detained and tortured there while the city was under government control. Human Rights Watch researchers visited the State Security and Military Intelligence facilities in Raqqa, now under the de facto control of local armed opposition groups, in late April 2013.
  • US: Federal Prison Release Program Badly Mismanaged
    May 3, 2013
    A landmark report by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Justice concludes that the compassionate release program of the federal Bureau of Prisons is badly mismanaged. The OIG findings confirm those made by Human Rights Watch and FAMM in a jointly published report last November.
  • Ban solitary confinement for youth in care of the federal government
    Apr 11, 2013
  • Israel: End Abusive Detention Practices
    Feb 24, 2013
    Israel should immediately charge or release Palestinians detained without charge or trial for prolonged periods and stop denying them and their lawyers access to evidence of their alleged crimes.
  • Libya: Focus on Justice System in Paris Meeting
    Feb 12, 2013
    The international ministerial meeting in Paris on security in Libya on February 12, 2013, should include building a strong justice system as an integral part of its discussions. The Paris meeting, hosted by the French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, will bring together senior Libyan officials and foreign ministers from the US, UK, Italy, Denmark, Turkey, the UAE, and Qatar, as well as representatives of the UN and EU.
  • Venezuela: Investigate Deaths in Prison Crackdown
    Feb 1, 2013
    The Venezuelan authorities should investigate the security forces’ use of lethal force during a prison weapons search on January 25, 2013, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should take urgent measures to ensure that such incidents are not repeated.
  • US: Injustices Filling the Prisons
    Jan 31, 2013

    The enormous prison population in the United States partly reflects harsh sentencing practices contrary to international law, Human Rights Watch said in the US chapter of its World Report 2013.

  • US: Human Rights Watch Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee
    Jan 4, 2013
    Human Rights Watch submitted this statement to inform the Human Rights Committee’s understanding of the US government’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
  • Viewpoints: Incapacitated prisoners too costly to keep
    Dec 28, 2012
    California has a hard time letting dying and incapacitated prisoners leave: Over the past two years, an average of 37 prisoners a year received either medical parole (if incapacitated) or a sentence recall (if dying). That's 0.028 percent of the prison population.
  • Joint Letter to States on UNGA’s Final Vote on Human Rights in Iran
    Dec 14, 2012
more documents on this topic »