Death in custody

A death in custody is a death of a person in the custody of the police, prison service or other authorities. Death in custody remains a controversial subject, with the authorities often being accused of abuse, neglect, racism and cover-ups of the causes of these deaths.^[1][2]

By country

Algeria

See Human rights in Algeria

Argentina

See Human rights in Argentina

Australia

See separate article: Aboriginal deaths in custody

Bangladesh

At least 32 people have died in "Operation Clean Heart" by the government of Bangladesh.See Human rights in Bangladesh

Burma

See Insein Prison, Human rights in Burma

Chad

See Human rights in Chad

China

Some estimate 20 million have died in the Chinese prison system. See Laogai, democide.

Congo

See Human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Cuba

See Human rights in Cuba

Egypt

See Human rights in Egypt

Finland

At least 460 people have died in police custody since 1990. About 20 people die in police custody a year, down from 28-30 per year in the nineties.^[3]

Germany

• Oury Jalloh
• Rosa Luxemburg

India

See Police encounter

Indonesia

See Cipinang Penitentiary Institution

Iran

See 1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners and Deaths in custody in Iran

Ireland

See Terence Wheelock

Jamaica

"At least 650 people have been killed by police officers in Jamaica since 1999. Many of these have been blatantly unlawful killings, yet not one officer has been convicted since then." Piers Bannister, Amnesty International’s Jamaica researcher.

Japan

See Human rights in Japan

Laos

See Human rights in Laos

Libya

See Abu Salim prison

Malaysia

• Kugan Ananthan
• Teoh Beng Hock

Mexico

See Human rights in Mexico

Morocco

See Human rights in Morocco

North Korea

See Human rights in North Korea

Pakistan

See Human rights in Pakistan

Saudi Arabia

See Human rights in Saudi Arabia

Somalia

See Human rights in Somalia

South Africa

South Africa has an unusually high level of deaths in custody. For example, in April to June 1997, there were 56 deaths in custody.^[4]

• Neil Aggett
• Richard Turner
• Steve Biko

Sudan

See Human rights in Sudan

Syria

See Tadmor Prison massacre

Turkey

See Prisons in Turkey

UAE

See Human rights in the United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom

United States

Some people in the US whose death in custody include:

• Sandra Bland
• Freddie Gray
• Michael Tyree
• Elliott Williams

Almost 100 prisoners have died in U.S. custody in Iraq and Afghanistan since August 2002, according to U.S. group Human Rights First. They include:

• Jamal Naseer
• Nagem Hatab

Vietnam

See Human rights in Vietnam

Yemen

See Human rights in Yemen

Zimbabwe

See Human rights in Zimbabwe

See also

• List of prison deaths
• Police brutality
• Prisoner suicide
• Capital punishment
• Institutional racism
• African-American family structure#Black male incarceration and mortality
• Category:People who died in police custody
• Category:People who died in prison custody
• List of killings by law enforcement officers in the United States
• List of freedom indices

References

1. "Death behind bars". Cmaj.ca. 2002-11-12. Retrieved 2015-02-25.
2. Stefan Fruehwald; Patrick Frottier. "Death behind bars" (PDF). Cmaj.ca. Retrieved 2015-02-25.
3. "Suomessa sattuu putkakuolemia parikymmentä vuodessa - Putkakuolemat - Kotimaa - Helsingin Sanomat". Hs.fi. Retrieved 2015-02-25.
4. "Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation". Csvr.org.za. Retrieved 2015-02-25.