Prisons
Look-alike prisoner gets cell-mate's release
German authorities have launched an investigation after a prisoner swapped identities with a cell-mate who was due to be released, and simply walked out of jail.
Festive prisons release 1,000 inmates
Over 1,000 prisoners will be let out early in time to spend Christmas at home as part of a traditional seasonal amnesty, according to media reports over the weekend.
Prisoners threaten strikes over conditions
Prisoners in Berlin have threatened a campaign of hunger strikes and disobedience in protest at overcrowding, a lack of social workers and the fact that people are being held for non-violent offences at high-security facilities.
Half of young prisoners attacked each month
Nearly half of young prisoners are physically attacked in jail in an average month a new study shows. The authors said violence in prisons must be reduced if those returning to society are to be reasonable neighbours.
German loses appeal to serve time back home
A German diplomat's son who has spent 22 years in a US prison after being convicted of murder has been denied the right to be moved to a German prison. He still protests his innocence.
East German prison labour claims spread
East German political prisoners were not only making furniture for Ikea but also sewing bedclothes for West German companies such as Quelle and Neckermann, according to new claims in Friday's <i>Handelsblatt</i> newspaper.
Victims' groups slam prisoner 'time out' plans
Victims' rights organisations and a police union sharply attacked a plan backed by 10 German states to allow prisoners convicted of dangerous crimes to apply for "holidays" after just five years in jail rather than the current 10.
Young Muslim criminals reoffend less often
Muslim young offenders are much less likely to reoffend once released from prison than their Christian cellmates, a study from western Germany shows.
Manhunt after second Bochum prisoner flees
German authorities are investigating how a prisoner being held on suspicion of attempted murder and arson managed to escape a North Rhine-Westphalia prison on Sunday and remains on the run.
Criminal found in attic after dramatic jail break
German police launched and then called off a manhunt on Monday after a dangerous criminal sawed through the bars of his prison window and disappeared over the roof – only to be found hiding in an attic room.
Convict connection: US pen pals found in jail
A growing number of Germans are becoming pen pals with inmates serving time in US prisons. The Local's Moises Mendoza explores what's behind these unusual transatlantic relationships.
Guard accused of helping with prison breakout
Police have arrested a prison guard on suspicion he helped in the dramatic escape of two violent inmates from the maximum-security Aachen jail, authorities announced Saturday, as the hunt for the two men continued.