Behind Bars
Behind Bars
These are six of the toughest prisons in the world. Confined, corrupt and overpopulated lands that reveal the worst aspects of humanity. Witness the complicated power structures behind bars that govern who survives and who is forced to live in fear.
Colony 100, Kharkiv, Ukraine
Colony 100: Ukraine’s prison for hardened criminals. All those behind the walls of this Soviet-built prison have either already done time in other jails, or they have committed crimes so heinous that they will never again leave their 100 square foot cell.
South Cotabato Jail, Philippines
South Cotabato Jail. One of the most overcrowded prisons in the world. The guilty and the innocent, all are behind bars together. In a jail designed for 600 prisoners, more than 2000 inmates are crammed into cells the size of shoe boxes.
Carcel Distrital, Bogotá, Colombia, Part 1
The inmates in the Carcel Distrital in Colombia fight many battles: against other prisoners, against the guards and most of all against themselves. It's a battle that most of them lose.
Carcel Distrital, Bogotá, Colombia, Part 2
The Carcel Distrital is located in one of the most dangerous quarters of Bogotá. Nearly 950 men and 50 women are imprisoned here, most are still awaiting their final judgment. Their long wait may last for years: Justice in Columbia is very slow.
El Hongo, Tecate, Mexico
El Hongo is a high-security bunker in Mexico’s desert. Snipers on fifteen guard towers make sure that nothing can get in or out. El Hongo is deemed perfectly incorruptible in a country where corruption runs through all levels of society.
Armavir Prison, Armenia
Once, inmates in Armenian prisons were run by the "Thieves in Law", a criminal brotherhood rejecting state authority and living by its own code. They control prisons, drug trade and smuggling. Armavir prison is the first attempt at limiting their power.
La Mesa, Mexico
La Mesa, A Mexican prison just over the US border. The inmates? Drug traffickers, rapists, cartel killers. They hardly get to leave their cells and exist in two square meters for up to eight inmates. La Mesa is ruled with an iron fist.