Of the nearly ten million people in detention around the world, those held before trial or conviction are most at risk of torture.

The majority of Sierra Leone's prison population is in pretrial detention. To reduce the numbers, a local NGO is piloting a prorgam that provides early legal assistance to criminal defendants.

Locking up prisoners for extended periods while awaiting trial feeds corruption; bribes are needed for food and water, for blankets and even to see a lawyer.

Five reasons why the new UN Guidelines and Principles on Legal Aid are groundbreaking and progressive.

Organizations across the region are working to combat excessive pretrial detention. Find out where and how.

We seek to document what happens when pretrial justice systems fail, and to develop and share cost-effective ways to get them working.

The UN Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor estimates that four billion people live outside the protection of the law. The Open Society Foundations are working to strengthen and expand access to the law for all.

This report looks at the positive impact that early intervention by lawyers and paralegals can have on pretrial justice and provides a guide to the ways in which lawyer and paralegal schemes can be set up.