What is the difference between a political prisoner and a criminal?

Some scholars have proposed criteria by which political prisoners can be differentiated from common criminals: the former are involved in some type of group struggle against ruling elites, whereas the latter’s activities typically involve an element of satisfying self-interests.

What is a prisoner of conscience?

A prisoner of conscience is a person who has been persecuted for the nonviolent act or expression of their conscientiously held beliefs.

What is jailing in criminal justice?

Jail means a confinement facility of a Federal, State, or local law enforcement agency whose primary use is to hold persons pending adjudication of criminal charges, persons committed to confinement after adjudication of criminal charges for sentences of one year or less, or persons adjudicated guilty who are awaiting …

What countries have the most political prisoners?

Indonesia under the reactionary military regime of Suharto has the biggest number of political prisoners in the world today. It is estimated that there are more than 360 jails and concentration-camps where the political prisoners are detained.

What are examples of political prisoners?

a person accused or convicted of an ordinary crime committed in a political context, such as at a demonstration by a trade union or a peasants’ organization; a member or suspected member of an armed opposition group who has been charged with treason or “subversion”.

How many people are political prisoners?

It’s estimated that there are currently more than a million political prisoners around the world.

Who first used the term of prisoners of conscience?

Peter Benenson
…Peter Benenson coined the term prisoner of conscience to describe two Portuguese students who had been sentenced to seven-year prison terms for their alleged “crime”—making a simple toast to freedom in spite of the dictatorial government of António de Oliveira Salazar that was in power at the time.

What is a prisoner of conscience Amnesty?

Amnesty International considers a Prisoner of Conscience (POC) to be any person imprisoned or otherwise physically restricted (like house arrest), solely because of his/her political, religious or other conscientiously held beliefs, their ethnic origin, sex, color, language, national or social origin, economic status.

What country has best prisons?

Norway
Norway has consistently ranked number one on a number of lists entailing the best, most comfortable prisons in the world.