Solitary confinement in prisons is degrading and dehumanising and it's time the practice was banned, a protest group says.
Photo: 123rf
People Against Prisons Aotearoa spokeswoman Emile Rakete said solitary confinement forced prisoners to go without human contact for up to 22 hours a day.
She said prisoners were not guaranteed natural light, fresh air, regular showers or use of the toilet.
The group is launching a campaign against the practice in Auckland tonight.
"Of all the people we have spoken to nobody felt like it was the right thing for them, everybody said it was torture, it felt like dying, and that it was a long and dark part of their lives that they are just trying to move past," Ms Rakete said.
She said letters from prisoners who have experienced solitary confinement will be used at the launch to show the effect it has on people.
In one of the letters, an inmate said they became suicidal and self-harmed after being placed in isolation for several days.
Corrections said solitary confinement - meaning prisoners being isolated from all other people as a punishment - was not carried out in New Zealand.
National commissioner Rachel Leota said inmates may be temporarily segregated if they were a risk to themselves, other prisoners or the security of the jail.
Examples could be a prisoner suffering from substance withdrawal or suspected of internally concealing contraband.
Official information figures released by the department show segregation was used 2837 times in prisons last year.