Inside the World's Toughest Prisons

Brazil: The Gang Prison

Investigative journalist Raphael Rowe spends a few days -- both as a guard and a prisoner -- inside Brazil's gang-filled

Ukraine: The Prison in a War Zone

Ukraine's Zhytomyr Prison is operated with a skeleton crew that allows prisoners to freely roam the grounds -- often wit

Papua New Guinea: The Breakout Prison

Raphael Rowe visits the short-staffed Bomana Prison in Papua New Guinea, where near-constant food shortages keep the fac

Belize: The Prison That Found God

In Belize Central Prison, the inmates are told that rehabilitation comes through God. Raphael Rowe investigates if this

Costa Rica: Prison on a Knife-Edge

Though he's no stranger to life behind bars, Raphael Rowe concedes that Costa Rica's La Reforma Prison is certainly amon

Colombia: Narco Prison

While spending a week inside Bogotá's fortress-like prison, Raphael Rowe must negotiate the oppressive atmosphere and d

Romania: Gypsy Prison

Raphael Rowe spends a week at a maximum security prison in Craiova, Romania, where the inmates include rapists, murderer

Norway: The Perfect Prison?

Many prisons aim to punish and demean inmates. Norway's Halden Prison -- as Raphael Rowe is about to see for himself --

Paraguay: The Most Dangerous Prison on Earth

Raphael Rowe spends a week behind bars at Tacumbu prison in Paraguay, where inmates scrounge in the trash in order to pa

Germany: The Therapy Prison

Schwalmstadt, a 12th-century fortress surrounded by a moat, houses some of Germany's worst offenders, many of whom atten

Mauritius: The Extreme Punishment Prison

The tropical island of Mauritius is home to Melrose maximum security prison, where even the smallest infraction is met w

Lesotho: Confronting Sexual Violence

An unnerved Rowe contends with aggressive cellmates at Maseru prison, where a high number of inmates are behind bars for

South Africa: The Number Gangs Prison

At Brandvlei Correctional Centre in South Africa, nearly all the convicts belong to dangerous gangs known for lethal sta

Philippines: The War on Drugs Prison

Once again, Raphael Rowe volunteers to go behind bars, this time in the Philippines at Manila City Jail, one of the worl

Greenland: Prison in the Ice

Greenland's Nuuk maximum security prison houses extremely dangerous prisoners, many of whom grew up alongside the guards

Moldova: The Lifers Prison

Cyprus: The Utopian Prison

Bosnia: The Mafia Prison

Greece: The People Smugglers Prison

Finland: The Free Choice Prison

At Finland's Kylmäkoski prison, Raphael meets violent offenders in the general population wing and bonds with the inmat

Czech Republic: The Crystal Meth Prison

Surrounded by many inmates who struggle with crystal meth addiction, Raphael enters the Pilsen prison and discovers that

Indonesia: The re-programming drug prison

Raphael gets a rare look inside Bangli prison, where drug offenders are forced to join a rehabilitation program and isol

Solomon Islands: God’s Own Prison

At the Rove maximum security prison, many of the inmates serve time for sexual offenses while navigating grim conditions