Objective: This study aimed to assess and comparatively analyse two menus from a Young Offenders Institution (YOI). One menu from 2019, and one from 2022, with the objective of identifying any improvements in meeting dietary guidelines. Design: Cross-sectional and comparative analysis. Setting: United Kingdom, a YOI in Northern England. Participants: YOI Menus. Results: Analysis of 30 dietary components identified that 25 exceeded the dietary guidelines (P < 0.05) for the 2022 menu, with five failing to meet the guidelines (P < 0.05). When compared to the 2019 menu, the 2022 menu showed improvements in saturated fat, sodium, and vitamin D. Despite the improvement, vitamin D levels remained below dietary guidelines (P < 0.01). Salt and energy content were reduced in the 2022 menu (P < 0.05); however, they were still above the dietary guidelines (P < 0.01). Free sugars were significantly above dietary guidelines for both menus, with no significant change between the 2019 and 2022 menu (P = 0.12). Conclusion: The 2022 menu has demonstrated progress in alignment with meeting dietary guidelines, particularly in reducing calories, fat, saturated fat, salt, sodium, and chloride, as well as increasing vitamin D. Despite improvements, calories, free sugars, salt, saturated fat, sodium, and chloride are still exceeding dietary guidelines, posing as potential health risks.

One of the most pronounced features of the war in Ukraine has been the heavy reliance of the Russian forces on convict-soldiers, most notably by the private military and security company (PMSC) the Wagner Group. In this essay, I explore the ethical problems with using convict-soldiers and assess how using them compares to other military arrangements, such as conscription or an all-volunteer force. Overall, I argue that the central issue with using prisoners to fight wars is their perceived expendability. To do this, I present three arguments. First, although many prisoners have been under major duress, using convict-soldiers may be somewhat preferable to using conscripts in this regard. Second, convict-soldiers are more likely to be subject to human rights abuses than other types of soldiers and this should be seen as the main problem with their use. Third, convict-soldiers’ liability to lethal force for fighting in an unjust war does not render it permissible to treat them as expendable.

Prisoners experience a higher burden of poor health, aggressive behaviours and worsening mental health than the general population. This systematic review aimed to identify research that used nutrition-based interventions in prisons, focusing on outcomes of mental health and behaviours. The systematic review was registered with Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews on 26 January 2022: CRD42022293370. Inclusion criteria comprised of current prisoners with no limit on time, location, age, sex or ethnicity. Only quantitative research in the English language was included. PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, EMBASE, PsycINFO and CINAHL were searched, retrieving 933 results, with 11 included for qualitative synthesis. Studies were checked for quality using the revised tool to assess risk of bias in randomised trials or risk of bias in non-randomised studies of interventions tool. Of the included studies, seven used nutritional supplements, three included diet changes, and one used education. Of the seven supplement-based studies, six included rule violations as an outcome, and only three demonstrated significant improvements. One study included mental health as an outcome; however, results did not reach significance. Of the three diet change studies, two investigated cognitive function as an outcome, with both reaching significance. Anxiety was included in one diet change study, which found a significant improvement through consuming oily fish. One study using diet education did not find a significant improvement in overall mental resilience. Overall, results are mixed, with the included studies presenting several limitations and heterogeneity. Future research should aim to consider increased homogeneity in research design, allowing for a higher quality of evidence to assess the role nutrition can play in improving the health of prisoners.

This article explores the turn to human rights of Tunisian Maoist activists in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Many of these Tunisians later became human rights activists. I argue against prevailing views that ideological changes toward human rights in the late 1970s were the result of paradigmatic ideological shifts or the demise of socialist, anti-imperialist thinking, or an outcome of international human rights norm diffusion. Doubt or loss of faith in some or all parts of Marxism-Leninism led to a diversity of ideological transformations that were complex and hybrid. Drawing on interviews with former Tunisian Maoists, as well as on their writings, the article outlines the political and ideological environment in which they operated. It describes their solidarity work for political prisoners and explores their encounter with Amnesty International as well as the Tunisian League for Human Rights in its first years of existence, showcasing how multiple approaches to human rights existed among the activists.

Covid-19 has induced many changes to society, including some in the practice of medicine and psychiatry. Among them is increasing use of telecommunications. A previous editorial outlined the possible uses and dangers of telemedicine with prisoners (Gunn et al 2020). Forensic psychiatry is also concerned with providing expert evidence to courts and other arbitration bodies and, increasingly, these bodies too are relying on such technology. Further in addition to traditional paper-style records (many now held electronically rather than literally on paper) there is increasing use of video recording of interviews, of day to day behaviour on secure hospital units and by bodycams when intervening in a tense, potentially violent situation. To what extent are these being used in court? Is there a European framework for guiding us on how to proceed? How has this been interpreted to date in countries across Europe? In this paper these issues will be addressed.

This paper examines the presence of lonely, isolated and impoverished older citizens in Japan's prison population, many of whom have turned to petty crime only recently and arguably lack a genuine need for corrective services. The paper offers empirical evidence drawn from a mixed-methods study that appears to confirm their compliant, ‘law-abiding’ attributes. It argues that their influx into prisons can be seen, at least in part, as citizens who are already socially excluded and stigmatised leveraging law to assert an additional risk-laden and stigmatised identity, which provides protection. The outcome is the subversion of prisons as de facto aged-care communities. This analysis resonates with an emerging body of literature that Chua and Engel (2018; 2019) have described as the ‘Identity’ school of legal-consciousness scholarship. This literature centres on empirical studies of marginalised cohorts who leverage legal structures to embrace an identity that complicates their stigma while providing desired protections.

Paraguay is a landlocked country in South America. It is a democratic low-middle-income nation, and the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare is responsible for its healthcare system. Mental health services receive just 1–2% of healthcare budgets, and there are only 1.6 psychiatrists per 100 000 inhabitants. There are insufficient resources to adequately assess and treat mental disorders in high-risk populations such as children, adolescents and prisoners. Despite several improvements to mental health policies within the past two decades, the nation still lacks a Mental Health Act and specific policies required to optimise the mental health of the population.