Inmates escape in ongoing IS attack on Afghan prison

In the Russian prison system, letters are oftentimes the only effective means to communicate with prisoners, and activists see writing to the convicts as their own personal act of protest.

Opposition activists welcomed the news, but say the military has yet to make good on its word. Ousted President Alpha Conde has been seen on video, but would not answer questions about whether he was being mistreated.

Eighty political prisoners detained by Alpha Conde's government, including a number who had campaigned against his third term, were released on Tuesday (september 7) evening following a military coup which deposed the now former Guinean president. Ismael Conde, a former member of Alpha Conde's party who rallied against a third term, left Conakry's central jail thanking the people of Guinea for his liberation and embracing a close relative before disapearing into the crowd.

At the Rennes women's prison in western France, a team of inmates and guards are working hard to beat the French indoor rowing record for the most kilometres covered in 24 hours, a challenge that offers a moment of escape, cohesion and self-improvement.

Relatives of prisoners in an Ecuadorian jail where gang clashes left over a hundred dead speak of their fears for their loved ones. "It's very painful," said the mother of one prisoner outside the jail, "I don't know if my son is well or not."

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The third such major attack this year in Nigeria resulted in over 800 inmates being freed from a state prison. Police have since managed to rearrest more than 200 escapees.

Drug trafficking gangs went on a killing spree in the same Ecuadorean prison where 119 people died in September. Ecuador plans to release some prisoners at the overcrowded facility.

At least 38 inmates were killed and dozens more injured in a fire on Tuesday at the main prison in Burundi's capital Gitega, the country's vice president said. Twelve died of asphyxia as they tried to flee the burning buildings and 26 died of severe injuries, Vice President Prosper Bazombanza told reporters at the Gitega Prison after the fire. Video Credit: Sos Médias Burundi

As the world observes International Human Rights Day, Cameroon has come under heavy criticism for the detention of hundreds of opposition political prisoners.

Myanmar says it's released more than 5,000 political prisoners as part of an amnesty for people arrested during pro-democracy protests in recent months. But critics of the ruling military junta say it is just a way to ease tensions with ASEAN.

Inmates in the prison hospital in Saratov, southwestern Russia, were allegedly tortured and filmed. The videos, which have now been revealed, are a blow for law enforcement officers. And it might not be an isolated case.