detainees

A mural in Washington, D.C. depicts Americans Siamak Namazi (left), who remains in Iran, and Jose Angel Pereira, who was released from Venezuela in October.

American Siamak Namazi is on a hunger strike in Iranian prison. Why now and for what?

10:43am January 17, 2023

by Rachel Treisman

Namazi is on a hunger strike to mark the seventh anniversary of a prisoner swap that did not include him, and calling on Biden to free detainees in Iran. His lawyer spoke with NPR about those efforts.

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Paul Whelan holds a sign in protest as he awaits his verdict in Moscow in June 2020. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison on charges of espionage.

Biden vows to bring longtime detainee Paul Whelan home from Russia too

2:58pm December 08, 2022

by Rachel Treisman

The former U.S. Marine has been held in Russia since 2018. As supporters celebrate Brittney Griner's release, they — Whelan himself included — are wondering why he was left behind.

Demonstrators stand along the road in front of the La Palma Correctional Center in Eloy on April 10, 2020. The event was one of several car rallies calling for the release of immigrants detained at the ICE facility during COVID-19.

'You Can Either Be A Survivor Or Die': COVID-19 Cases Surge In ICE Detention

3:52pm July 01, 2020

by Alisa Reznick

More than 2,700 immigrants have tested positive for COVID-19 in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention nationwide, pushing immigrants to the brink and lawyers to fight for their release.

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Inmates are seen at the Hudson County Correctional Center in Kearny, N.J. in 2015.

National

Internal ICE Reviews Of Two Immigrant Deaths Stoke Fears About COVID-19 Care

3:38pm April 29, 2020

by Joel Rose

As COVID-19 spreads in detention, ICE documents shared with NPR reveal new details about the health care provided to two immigrants who died in 2017. Those facilities now face coronavirus outbreaks.

Vehicles wait in line to cross into Canada at the Peace Bridge Plaza on March 18, 2020, in Buffalo N.Y. The Canada-U.S. border will be closed to non-essential traffic in both directions "by mutual consent," President Donald Trump confirmed Wednesday, as e

National

Immigration Grinds To A Halt As President Trump Shuts Borders

9:58pm March 18, 2020

by Joel Rose

A day of dramatic developments on the northern and southern borders as the U.S. immigration system slows down in response to the growing Coronavirus pandemic.

Detained Turkish soldiers who allegedly took part in a military coup arrive with their hands bound behind their backs at the Istanbul Justice Palace on Wednesday following the failed military coup attempt.

World News

Amnesty International: After Turkey's Failed Coup, Some Detainees Are Tortured, Raped

10:19am July 25, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

Turkey has detained more than 10,000 people in the wake of a failed coup attempt. Amnesty International reports that new evidence of torture may be just a snapshot of the abuses happening now.

A detainee cell in Camp 6 inside the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in February.

After 9 Detainees Transferred From Guantanamo, The Number Held There Drops To 80

9:06am April 17, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

The group transferred to Saudi Arabia represented just over 10 percent of the population that remained at Guantanamo. It's another step toward Obama's goal of shuttering the facility by next year.

Leg shackles lie on the floor at Camp 6 detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Jan. 21, 2009.

National

Guantanamo's Prisoner Population Drops To 89

4:00pm April 05, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

Two Libyan detainees were transferred to Senegal on Monday, the first Guantanamo prisoners accepted by that country. Of the 89 detainees still at Guantanamo, 35 have been cleared for release.

Detainees at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Wash., gather for a Sikh prayer service.

With Religious Services, Immigrant Detainees Find 'Calmness'

7:24pm July 27, 2015

by Liz Jones

In-house chaplains have helped detainees cope with daily frustration, even reducing violence in detention centers. But meeting the spiritual needs of people from all over the world is a challenge.

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