As coronavirus rips through the jails of the world, political prisoners are facing extraordinary risks. In India, the government is rounding up students. In Western Sahara, Moroccan authorities continue to detain Saharawi activists despite a prisoner release scheme, and in the US, estimates from the American Civil Liberties Union show that mass incarceration could add up to 100,000 people to the COVID-19 death toll.
Meanwhile governments continue to roll out unprecedented surveillance. England's National Health Service has quietly announced the largest handover of patient data to private companies in history. Who stands to gain? US tech giants Amazon, Microsoft and Google – plus controversial AI films Faculty and Palantir.
openDemocracy and Foxglove, a tech justice start-up, have demanded the British government release more details of these lucrative deals under Freedom of Information laws. The government has just missed its deadline to comply, which means we may have to sue for publication – follow our partners Foxglove and sign up to get updates - as this story develops.
