The human rights organisation Amnesty International says human rights violations are commonplace in Brazilian jails and police stations.

In a new report, the organisation says cells in many prisons are overcrowded and vermin-infested, and detainees are regularly humiliated and tortured.

The report says torture is also widespread in Brazil's police stations as a means of extracting confessions.

The Brazilian government has recently launched a construction programme to combat overcrowding in jails.