Latest news with #overcrowding
Al Arabiya
12 minutes ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Italy may release up 10,000 people from prison to curb overcrowding
Italy may release up to around 10,000 people from prison, or about 15 percent of the total population of inmates, to ease overcrowding, the Justice Ministry has announced. Some 10,105 prisoners are 'potentially eligible' for alternative measures to prison, such as house arrest or probation, the ministry said in a statement late on Tuesday. The option would apply to people whose convictions are final and no longer subject to appeal, less than 2 years of sentences left to serve, and no serious disciplinary offences in the past 12 months. People serving time for serious crimes such as terrorism, organized crime, rape, migrant trafficking and kidnapping would be excluded, the ministry added. According to the World Prison Brief database, Italy has one of Europe's worst prison overcrowding records, with an occupancy level of around 122 percent. Any level above 100 percent indicates that prisons are occupied above their maximum capacity. Only Cyprus, France and Turkey have higher scores in Europe, according to the database. The plight of prisoners has attracted attention in Italy following a rise in suicides and complaints about soaring summer temperatures in detention facilities that are not air- conditioned. However, the early release of prisoners is a politically sensitive move, and the Justice Ministry indicated that it would not happen overnight. It said it had set up a taskforce to liaise with prisons and parole judges to facilitate decisions on individual cases, which will meet weekly and report on its work by September.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Tourists go home': Inside the angry protests on Spain's holiday islands
In scenes echoed across southern Europe, Spain's Canary Islands are suffering from a crisis of too many tourists – 18 million are projected to visit in 2025. On Tenerife, where tourism accounts for 35% of the economy and which draws the largest number of mostly British holidaymakers, it is tourists, not immigrants, who are seen as a threat to local identity. As protests across the Mediterranean continue, local people vent their anger at an exploitative, extractive and unsustainable tourism model. But is it still possible to change course, and are political leaders listening?
CTV News
2 days ago
- CTV News
Calgary Stampede attendance falls short of record
Overcrowding concerns, stabbings and an animal death among the challenges at this year's Stampede. Jordan Kanygin reports. The Calgary Stampede's all-time attendance record, set in 2024, still stands. According to data from officials on Monday, 121,704 people visited Stampede Park on Sunday, bringing the total attendance number for 2025 to 1,470,288. That's 7,665 fewer than last year. The 2025 edition of the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth was marred by concerns over public safety and overcrowding after a violent altercation following a live performance on the Coke Stage. Three people were stabbed in the attack on July 9 and police are still looking for suspects. On Sunday, Calgary Stampede CEO Joel Cowley addressed the issue, saying that his team will better evaluate what acts will perform at the venue. 'We know these high demand artists, those that draw a younger crowd, tend to be a little ruly than, say, a classic rock band that goes there, so all those things will be evaluated.' Calgary Stampede attendance falls short of record On July 9, 2025, three people were stabbed on the Calgary Stampede Midway. Investigators linked the assault to a live performance at the Coke Stage that same night. He added the Calgary Police Service and Calgary Fire Department would be included in those discussions. Horse death on Saturday Rodeo action at the Calgary Stampede was not without tragedy after a chuckwagon horse was injured during the eighth heat of the Rangeland Derby on Saturday. The animal, with Chad Fike's team, needed to be euthanized after it broke its left front leg. Cowley said the action was the 'most humane' thing to do, but animal rights activists said the fact there was no news of the injury during the broadcast suggests the organization was not being transparent. 'They do not want the public to know that animals die regularly,' said Alexandra Pester, staff lawyer with Animal Justice. Calgary Stampede attendance falls short of record During the eighth heat of the Rangeland Derby on Saturday night, a horse with Chad Fike's team broke it's leg and the animal needed to be euthanized. (Supplied/Sportsnet) Nonetheless, Cowley said Sunday the event was success and visitors agreed. Officials say a poll of visitors said they were happy with this year's event and many felt they would come back again in the future. (With files from Jordan Kanygin)
The Guardian
2 days ago
- The Guardian
French prisoner rearrested days after escape in cellmate's laundry bag
A prisoner who escaped from a French jail hidden in the laundry bag of another detainee who was released on Friday has been rearrested, authorities have said, amid a continuing debate over prison security and overcrowding. Elyazid A, 20, known as 'the Joker' or 'the Equaliser', was detained early on Monday morning as he emerged from a cellar in a village about 15 miles (25km) from Lyon-Corbas, the prison he had escaped from on Friday. Prison officers had not noticed his disappearance until he had been gone for 24 hours. They said he escaped in a large plastic laundry bag filled with clothes wheeled out of the prison on a trolley by one of his cellmates who was released on Friday. The cellmate is still being sought, police said. The justice minister, Gérald Darmanin, has ordered an investigation into the circumstances of the escape, as have Lyon public prosecutors, the French prison service and Lyon-Corbas jail itself. Sébastien Cauwel, the national prison service chief, said Elyazid A, who was in prison for a range of relatively minor offences but also under investigation for alleged criminal association and conspiracy to murder, had not been flagged as a security risk. Cauwel told BFMTV that the escape method was 'extremely rare' and the fact it had succeeded was 'the consequence of a series of dysfunctions – serious and inadmissible dysfunctions – inside this prison, which are now being fully investigated'. He said the episode appeared to be a result of 'human rather than material' failing inside the prison, but added that severe overcrowding 'obviously makes the prison officers' job somewhat more difficult than it might otherwise be'. Lyon-Corbas prison was designed for 678 inmates but holds almost 1,220, according to report in May by the Lyon bar association, which called for an 'urgent end to overcrowding so as to respect fundamental rights and human dignity'. France's total prison population of 85,000 is housed in jails meant to accommodate fewer than 63,000, Cauwel said. He said it was possible officers had not noticed the escape because cells that were no longer fully occupied 'are immediately refilled'. According to a 2024 Council of Europe report, France's 186 prisons have the worst overcrowding rate in the EU after those in Cyprus and Romania. Spectacular escapes are not uncommon, with nearly 20 helicopter breakouts since the 1980s. Unions say the prison service is understaffed by at least 5,000 officers. In April, 21 people were arrested after a wave of attacks hit multiple French jails, with automatic weapons fired at the entrance to Toulon prison in the south of the country. In other incidents, cars were set alight and prison officers' accommodation was vandalised in what media described as a 'declaration of war' by drug cartels after a government crackdown on traffickers and the imposition of tougher conditions for kingpins operating inside jails. The justice ministry has said it is working to improve general prison conditions, with measures including new high-security prisons for the most dangerous detainees aimed at combating organised crime that often continues to be run from inside jails.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Inmate escapes from French prison by hiding in bag of released cellmate
An inmate has escaped from a French prison by hiding in the bag of his cellmate who was being released, according to reports. The 20-year-old prisoner fled from Lyon-Corbas prison in south-east France on Friday, BFMTV reported. The prison service has reportedly now launched an internal investigation into the incident, with its director, Sébastien Cauwel, admitting to an 'accumulation of errors' that led to the incident. He told the broadcaster: 'This is an extremely rare event that we have never experienced in this administration and which clearly reveals a whole series of serious dysfunctions.' The inmate, who is still on the run, managed to hide in his cellmate's bag when he was released at the end of his sentence on Friday, BFMTV said. However, his escape was reportedly not noticed by staff for another 24 hours. It has been suggested that the delay was due to overcrowding at the prison. 'This facility has an occupancy rate of 170 per cent. This clearly makes working conditions more difficult for our staff,' the prison service head told BFMTV. French media have reported that the escaped prisoner was serving several sentences and was also under investigation in a case connected to organised crime. The BBC added that a judicial investigation probing the possibility that the escape was 'part of an organised gang and criminal conspiracy' has been opened.
