As they say, never say never, and people end up in this correctional facility mainly by a state sentence for a crime they have committed. Even in Ancient Rome, there were prisons where criminals, debtors, and prisoners were kept. And under Emperor Servius Tullius, Christians were kept there. Let's try to look at places of detention from the inside, and imagine the most terrible prisons where the most dangerous criminals are kept.
1. Vladimir Central (Russia)
The prison is designed for especially dangerous criminals. Vladimir Central is located in the city of Vladimir, which is located near Moscow. The Russian place of imprisonment has a very long history, as the prison was built in 1783. Initially, it was an ordinary wooden house in which troublemakers and thieves were put, but later the building was turned into a large stone complex with increased security and tougher conditions. In 1906, the wooden prison was named "Vladimir Central", where revolutionaries and other people who wanted to overthrow the Russian Tsar were taken. In 1921, "Vladimir Central" was converted into a special detention center for Socialist Revolutionaries, Mensheviks, anarchists, Zionists and the intra-party opposition.
During the Great Patriotic War, prisoners, spies, and collaborators were imprisoned in Central, and in the 60s and 70s, Soviet dissidents were imprisoned, as well as the American CIA agent and spy Gary Francis Powers. At the moment, there are about a thousand convicts in Central, most of whom have life sentences. Such prisoners include maniacs, thieves in law, murderers, rapists, and pedophiles who have more than one conviction.
The Vladimir Central prison is known for its cruel treatment of prisoners, they beat criminals to death, force them out of their cells, and force prisoners to beat each other. The Central building is overcrowded with a large number of convicts, which causes a major shortage of food, clothing, and cells to serve their sentences. The prison is unsanitary, which causes a large number of infectious diseases and infections that prisoners suffer from. A thousand criminals within the walls of this torturous place in Russia are still suffering and begging for freedom.
2. Butyrka prison (Russia)
The largest prison and pretrial detention center in Moscow. Butyrka is located in the Tverskoy district of the Central Administrative Okrug on Novoslobodskaya Street. Butyrka prison is one of the most terrible in Russia. Butyrka, like Vladimir Central, was built in the nineteenth century, or more specifically, in 1775. The very first prisoner of Butyrka was none other than Yemelyan Pugachev, who was locked in the basement of the prison and awaited his execution. In October 1917, Butyrka was used to imprison people who were objectionable to the authorities and enemies of the February and October revolutions.
Butyrka prison was used to exile pre-revolutionary government officials, writers, priests and simply scientists who acted in defiance of the new Russian government. In 1937-1938, there were more than 22 thousand prisoners in Butyrka, of whom less than a thousand were shot by order. During the Great Patriotic War, the prisoners had a particularly hard time, as the prison was partially converted into a workshop, where prisoners had to make cartridges and weapons for the Soviet Union army day and night.
In 1971, a museum was created in Butyrka, which not every visitor can enter. When entering the prison museum, the guards take away cameras and other photo devices, which are prohibited on the museum grounds. Butyrka is known for the fact that in addition to cruelty, aggression and excessive violence between neighbors and jailers, there is terrible unsanitary conditions, which entails various epidemics. In Butyrka, prisoners suffer from AIDS, suffer from tuberculosis, and also infectious diseases. Considering all the terrible conditions for prisoners in Butyrka, some prisoners still escaped, who were later caught 2-3 years later.
3. Black Dolphin (Russia)
A maximum security prison for life-sentenced criminals for terrible and inhuman crimes. The Black Dolphin is one of the scariest places in Russia. The Black Dolphin is located in the Orenburg Region in the city of Sol-Iletsk. The Black Dolphin is the unofficial name of the institution, which appeared thanks to a small fountain in the form of a black dolphin, the official name is "FKU IK-6 UFSIN". The Black Dolphin does not have much history, it is only known that it was previously a hospital for criminals, which after 2000 became a maximum security colony for life-sentenced prisoners.
The Black Dolphin is probably the most terrible and strict prison in Russia, where serial killers, pedophiles, necrophiles, sadists, maniacs and cannibals are put. Most of the prisoners are such cruel psychopaths that they have committed murders of their cellmates several times. Some convicts do not repent of their terrible crimes at all and hope that one day they will be released into the big society again. The Black Dolphin has strict isolation, because of which the criminals do not have any contact with other convicts. There are 2-3 prisoners in each cell, especially dangerous convicts and cannibals are put in solitary confinement cells. Total control reigns in the buildings, where cameras are located everywhere and are on 24 hours a day, working without a break.
The cameras must see what is happening in the cells even at night, the lights are never turned off, which is why the criminals sleep with the lights on. The prisoners in the Black Dolphin cannot move around the prisons on their own, for this the jailers bend them face down so that they cannot see and remember the prison road. The cells are made in such a way that the prisoner is in an additional cage that separates the criminals from the doors and windows. In the prison there were moments when, upon arrival at the colony, they began to set service dogs on the convicts, which tore their clothes and a little skin. In the entire history of its existence, there have never been any escapes in the Black Dolphin, since the prison is very strictly guarded and not a single prisoner knows what the prison corridors look like.
4. Carandiru (Brazil)
Carandiru prison was closed in 2002, but before the prison existed, terrible horrors took place there. Carandiru prison was the most brutal prison in South America with inhumane conditions for survival. The prison was located in a remote area near the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo. Carandiru was a prison so poor that prisoners slept on the floor due to lack of space. 10-15 prisoners lived in one cell, who practically did not wash, which caused infections, diseases, tuberculosis, ringworm, and HIV to spread throughout the prison. Due to the poor sewage system, very often the toilets in the cells did not work, and there was no water in the cells, as a result of which there was a terrible smell in the cells.
Medicine was practically absent in the prison, there was a shortage of all drugs and medicines, any operations were done without anesthesia. There were very few doctors in Carandiru, not everyone agreed to treat sick prisoners, since most doctors refused because of their attitude to convicts as not people. In addition to severe unsanitary conditions and poor medicine, Carandiru had harsh prison guards who tortured prisoners with pain, beat them with truncheons, and also strangled them.
Conditions in the prison are so harsh that prisoners staged a riot in 1992, during which prison guards flooded the cells with water. One day, another prison riot was staged in Carandiru, which resulted in prison guards beating more than 100 prisoners to death, an incident that shocked all of Carandiru's prisoners and the Brazilian people in general.
5. La Santé (France)
La Sante prison is one of the most brutal prisons in Western Europe, located in Paris. The name of the prison means "health" in French, although in fact the health of prisoners in La Sante deteriorates terribly.
La Santé prison was founded in 1867 as a place for hard labor for arrested criminals. In those years, slaves were publicly executed in the prison courtyard by hanging and beheading on the guillotine. Political prisoners and communist-minded Frenchmen also served their time in the prison. During World War II, prisoners and deserters were imprisoned in La Santé, as well as Frenchmen who resisted the collaborationist Vichy government.
The Sante prison is famous for its widespread homosexuality and abuse of weaker inmates, as well as the barbaric treatment of prisoners by the guards. The prison is so dirty that it is infested with insects, dangerous parasites and rats, which is why prisoners hide their personal belongings in convenient places and never leave anything on the floor.
The convicts washed themselves in batches no more than once a week, which is why half of the criminals had lice and other physical diseases. The food was disgusting, spoiled and of poor quality, which is why many prisoners starved and also got poisoned. La Sante is a prison where suicide is very common, in 1999 alone, 120 suicides were recorded in the prison, and in 2001 there were 130 cases of suicide of convicts due to life imprisonment in the rotten walls of hell.
The prisoners sought any means of ending their lives, such as hanging, swallowing forks, spoons, but the most common method was eating rat poison. La Sante prison is currently undergoing major renovations, which will be completed in 2020.
6. Alcatraz (USA)
Alcatraz prison is one of the most famous prisons in the world, there are many legends and stories about this terrible place. The peculiarity of the prison is that it is located on a Californian island in the San Francisco Bay, it was almost impossible to escape from such a prison. The most terrible prison in America dates back to 1850, when American troops landed on the island and built a military base on the island to protect against enemy attacks.
Later, 11 years later, in 1861, American soldiers turned the military base into a prison for prisoners of war, where they later imprisoned Spanish during the Spanish-American War. After 1930, the military prison "Alcatraz", due to large banditry and crime, was made a federal prison. The prison was increased in the number of cells, new strong bars and tear gas were installed, and general security was strengthened.
The most dangerous criminals of that time, gangsters, bandits, mafia members and robbers, including the most famous enemy of the USA number 1 – Al Capone, ended up in Alcatraz. There were no various diseases, infections and unsanitary conditions in the prison, but Alcatraz terrified criminals because each prisoner was in a separate cell, which was completely isolated from sounds.
The prisoners had no opportunity to have any contact with other cellmates, as a result of which all prisoners were completely alone. Prisoners who broke the silence were cruelly punished by collective beatings by guards and psychological torture.
Escape from Alcatraz prison was impossible, but in 1962, despite heavy guards, three convicted criminals escaped from their cells and sailed away from Alcatraz Island in boats, the fate of the criminals was unknown. In 1963, Alcatraz prison was closed due to the high cost of maintaining prisoners on the island. At the moment, the prison is a public museum, as well as a national recreation area, which is actively visited by tourists from all over the world.
7. Diyarbakir (Türkiye)
The prison is located in the small city of Diyarbakir, which is located in the southeastern part of Turkey. The prison was built in 1980 and since then has begun to instill fear and horror in Turkish criminals. The prison was originally designed to house Kurds, who were an ethnic group in Turkey during the Kurdish uprising. Diyarbakir is known for the fact that in addition to adult criminals, there are minors and young children who are sentenced to life imprisonment.
Living conditions in the prison are disgusting and the same for everyone, regardless of age. There is virtually no medicine in Diyarbakir Prison and sick prisoners are not treated for various infections and contagions. Criminals, especially children, are brutally beaten, punished and subjected to physical and psychological torture. Convicts had their hair pulled out, their bones broken and were raped. Some prisoners were punished by being forced to walk naked around the prison grounds.
In the prison, prisoners are punished by execution for raising a riot or organizing a mass protest against the prison. So in 1996, there was a planned mass fight and riot in the prison, as a result of which 10 people were killed, 25 were injured and 10 people were punished. After this incident, prison conditions became tougher, prison guards were strengthened, and supervision became stricter.
The cells in the prison are very small and very overcrowded, there is no free space, no extra clothes and not enough food for everyone. Due to the poor sewerage system, prisoners rarely wash, resulting in lice and other bacteria. Diyarkabir is certainly one of the most horrible and hellish prisons in Turkey and the world.
8. Guitarama (Rwanda)
Gitarama Prison is considered one of the poorest prisons in the world. The prison is located in the city of Gitarama, which is the second most populous city in the African Republic of Rwanda. The prison is not large in size and is designed for approximately 500 prisoners, but in fact, more than 7 thousand black prisoners are in the cells.
There is so little space in the Gitarama prison that prisoners sometimes have nowhere to sit, lie down and sleep, and have to stand. Some prisoners are constantly forced to stand, which is why most of them have sore legs and suffer terribly. The prison is disgustingly unsanitary, the toilets do not work properly, all human feces decompose in the terrible heat and spread a disgusting smell throughout the prison.
The prison is overcrowded with dirt, garbage, excrement, insects, rats and other parasites that live in prisoners. Due to poverty, there is little food in the prison and hunger reigns, which is why prisoners very often eat their cellmates. Also, due to poverty, there is no medicine in the prison, no medicine, no medications and no qualified doctors. Most prisoners are sick with viruses, epidemics, gangrene, infections, which is why many die. Sometimes, the corpses of prisoners are left lying on the floor in the cells and rotting for weeks, after which they are noticed by the guards and buried near the prison.
The attitude of the convicts towards their cellmates is hateful, fights and beatings constantly break out in the cells, prisoners are ready to kill each other for food and a place to sleep. In the event of a mass fight, the guards brutally beat all the criminals without any showdowns or explanations. Due to the unbearable living conditions, black prisoners hang themselves, strangle themselves, ask others to kill themselves and look for other ways to free themselves from the excruciating suffering of prison.
The prison building is so hot that if a white man were to be imprisoned there, he would pray daily for his freedom and would be a prime candidate for committing suicide.
9. Guantanamo Bay (Cuba)
The Guantanamo prison is very famous and there are many rumors, legends and other myths about it. The Guantanamo prison has been open since 2002 and is located at the American naval base in Guantanamo Bay, next to the same city. The prison is intended not only for prisoners, but also for those accused by the US authorities of terrorism and cooperation with Al-Qaeda and terrorists from Afghanistan.
People were imprisoned in Guantanamo without any trial or investigation, without any explanations or clarifications. The Guantanamo prison is known for its torture and interrogations, which violate all possible human rights. The accused are tortured by drowning, exposure to loud music, sleep deprivation, suffocation. The accused were put in separate rooms, where they were forced to listen to mind-blowing music with their eyes closed, which drove them crazy.
The accused are tied up almost all the time, which is why they cannot go to the toilet and go to the toilet on themselves. Guantanamo prisoners are not in cells, but in small cages, over which there are a bunch of guards. The slaves in the cages are given dry food in vacuum bags, which looks like paper and cardboard. In the cages, the accused sleep with the lights on for three hours, after which they are put in other cages. During sleep, any accused is forcibly pulled out of bed and taken for interrogation. Each accused outside of their cells wears a black bag on their head so that the accused cannot see anything or anyone.
Since the cells are in the basement, the prisoners are forced to do constant physical exercise so that they don't freeze. For any violation of the rules, the prisoners were stripped and put in cold punishment cells, where their limbs and genitals froze. The accused were often publicly punished in front of the other prisoners, the accused were fed food through a tube through the nose, given electric shocks, and forced to stand on one leg for several hours.
Guantanamo Bay is certainly a hellish place, but the worst thing is that all the methods of torture and interrogation within the walls of this prison are approved by the US government and are considered legitimate. In 2009, US President Barack Obama signed an order to disband the prison, but the president's decision was not implemented and Guantanamo Bay still exists.
10. Yodok (North Korea)
North Korea is by nature the toughest state in the world and the prisons in this country are as strict as the political regime of Kim Jong-un. There are 6 prisons in North Korea, information about which is hidden, since North Korea is an isolated state from everyone. But one of these 6 prisons is known and the name of this prison is Yodok.
Yodok Prison was originally a place where opponents and dissatisfied with the North Korean regime were sent. In 1959, the government led by Kim Il Sung ordered a concentration camp for political prisoners to be built here.
It is not known exactly how many convicts are in Yodok, but the approximate figure is 45 thousand people.
Yodok is the most closed prison in the world, about which there is no reliable information, but there are testimonies of former prisoners. Accused people are sent to Yodok by group and brutal arrest without trial or investigation. Most people are put in Yodok not because they committed some crime, but because their distant relatives once did it.
In North Korea there is a principle of collective responsibility, if one person is put in prison, then his entire family, all relatives and all close friends are put in prison with him, and some of them are simply shot. Yodok prison was sent for various reasons, if a North Korean resident was found with a Bible, he was put in prison, if such a person crossed the border, he was put in prison, if such a person said something about the political regime of North Korea, he was put in prison.
There is practically no food in the prison, they feed only corn a day, because of which the prisoners starve and eat grass and leaves, rats, ants. The slaves constantly work in the mines, where they are maimed due to accidents and spoil their health. All prisoners over 6 years old must work, regardless of whether such people have physical disabilities or missing limbs. In prison, any movement was punished, even for petty theft of food, the punishment was an increase in prison term to life, as well as the death penalty by shooting or hanging.
Prisoners are easily killed, raped, cut, abused and, most horrifyingly, subjected to chemical and biological experiments. The most famous torture in the Yodok prison was putting a prisoner in a very small room, where he was in the fetal position and could not move or breathe.
There is no medicine, medicine, medication or pills in the prison area, there are no doctors in the prison, if a prisoner gets sick with something, he simply dies. Due to the low standard of living in North Korea, all the prisons on its territory are among the poorest prisons in the world. The most terrible thing is that no state or international organization can influence the events in the Yodok prison, since North Korea does not cooperate with other countries, is not a member of international organizations. Yodok is, without a doubt, the most terrible and horrible prison, due to its secrecy and obscurity, which probably conceals terrible things regarding those sentenced to life imprisonment.
11. San Quentin Prison (USA)
The oldest prison in America, where prisoners live in inhumane conditions. A large number of prisoners are criminals sentenced to death. Previously, the sentence was carried out using a gas chamber, now prisoners are killed by lethal injection.
There is terrible filth and unsanitary conditions everywhere. In 2005, a commission that inspected the prison admitted that the conditions did not meet generally accepted standards, but since then, almost nothing has changed.
Riots based on racial intolerance happen very often here. And then the most brutal criminals of the USA, gathered under one roof, arrange a real bloodbath, which the guards and police sometimes manage to pacify with great difficulty. There is no more terrible prison in America, where a juvenile offender - a "first-timer" can end up.
12. Bang Kwang Prison (Thailand)
This terrible prison became famous thanks to the film "Bangkok Hilton", where Nicole Kidman played the main role. The regime of detention is extremely harsh and cruel, so the Thais themselves call the prison "Big Tiger", because this place grinds and chews people with the ruthlessness of a forest predator. Criminals who have a prison term of 25 years up to life imprisonment end up here. Those sentenced to death are also held here.
In cells measuring 6 x 4 meters, there are 20-25 people who are locked in these cages for 14 hours a day. They are fed once a day - a bowl of thin vegetable soup and some bread, the prisoners must buy the rest of the food themselves. There is an unbearable stench of excrement all around, because the prisoners relieve themselves in open cesspools.
There is no need to talk about any medical care: seriously ill people lie on beds with no chance of receiving medicine and eventually die in agony. This is one of the most terrible prisons on the planet.
13. Rikers Island Prison (USA)
Rikers Prison is notorious for frequent riots, beatings, stabbings, and guard abuse of inmates.
This place is a real hotbed of aggression and violence. For example, in 2007, a guard, without any reason, brutally beat up a prisoner Charles Afflick. The injuries were so severe that the victim had to undergo several brain surgeries, but the guard received no punishment other than a reprimand.
And such impunity turns the staff of the institution into real beasts. Many prisoners do not survive even half a year in this place, hanging themselves with sheets on the windows of their cells. Rikers is also known for the cruel treatment of mentally ill patients by doctors, many of these prisoners, instead of treatment and recovery, receive beatings and humiliation, and as a result, end their suffering by committing suicide.
14. ADX Florence Maximum Security Prison (Colorado, USA)
ADX Florence opened its doors to its first inmates in 1994. The complex was built after the increasing number of attacks on guards and staff in U.S. prisons. It actually houses the "worst of the worst," most of the criminals have committed murder against other inmates and prison guards, and all of these "scumbags" are almost completely isolated from the staff.
The prisoners spend 23 hours a day in their small cells, and are allowed only one hour a day to exercise or read books in a special room. The prison holds about 400 prisoners, but the security measures here are simply unprecedented. Almost all the furnishings in the cell are made of cast concrete, including the bed, chair, table. The windows are 1.2 x 1.2 meters in size, made in such a way that the prisoner can only see part of the roof and the sky, and cannot orient himself in which part of the prison he is.
The complex is equipped with a huge number of sensors and motion detectors, and 1,400 massive steel doors with remote control will not allow criminals to escape to freedom. The prison walls are surrounded by a fence made of Bruno's spiral, 3.7 meters high. Even the most hardened scoundrels cannot withstand such inhuman conditions; despite total control, 4 prisoners still managed to commit suicide. Hundreds of hunger strikes have also been recorded, which the staff resolves in a radical way: they simply force-feed the protesting prisoner. This, one of the most terrible prisons in the world, was called by the former director "A cleaner version of hell on Earth."
15. Tadmor Prison (Syria)
The most terrible prison in the world is Tadmor prison, the atrocities that once took place here cause disgust and goosebumps in a normal person.
A former prisoner who managed to escape from this hell described the place as "a kingdom of death and madness." Bloodthirsty guards, out of boredom, sometimes dragged prisoners tied to a car along the ground to death. Or like butchers, they chopped up guilty criminals with axes, and starved relatively harmless political prisoners to death.
In 1980, the most horrific tragedy in the history of all the world's penitentiaries occurred here. After an assassination attempt on President Hafez al-Assad in Damascus, he sent helicopters with commandos to the prison. Having landed in Tadmor, the military began methodically shooting prisoners in their cells, then more than 1,000 people died. In 2001, the prison was closed, but in 2011 it began to function again, continuing to live up to its reputation as the "Kingdom of Death".
16. White Swan Prison (Solikamsk, Russia)
The White Swan prison has been in operation since 1938. During the height of Stalin's repressions, political prisoners were sent here - mainly priests.
In 1955, the prison was reorganized: from all over the USSR, “negatives” were sent here — prisoners who refused to accept the conditions of the detention regime and did not sign any documents. The harsh conditions of imprisonment were intended to break them: prisoners of the prison moved (and still move) in a bent position with their hands raised behind their backs.
Because of the harsh regime, prisoners convicted of particularly serious crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment typically receive a life sentence of three to seven years. White Swan prisoners are monitored by video cameras everywhere; if they approach a window, a siren sounds. When the peephole in their cell opens, prisoners must stand facing the wall with their arms raised and pressed to the wall with their palms facing outward. Famous White Swan prisoners include the thief in law Vasya Brilliant (Vasily Babushkin), who spent more than 40 years in the camps, and the terrorist Salman Raduyev.
17. Kresty Prison (Saint Petersburg, Russia)
The most famous prison in the Northern capital was built in 1884-1892. It got its name "Kresty" due to its classic 19th century cruciform layout. The prison complex does not look intimidating from the other side of the Neva: low red brick buildings, a church, a chimney reaching into the sky...
Nevertheless, Kresty is one of the most tragic places for Petersburgers. Anna Akhmatova's son Lev Gumilev, poet Nikolai Zabolotsky, actor Georgy Zhzhenov and future Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky were imprisoned here. The famous writer Daniil Harms also passed away in Kresty.
However, today there is an opinion that if a prisoner has high prison authority, his stay in a cold and gloomy prison at first glance can be much more comfortable than in other zones. According to rumors, one of the prisoners of "Kresty" was allowed to keep his favorite iguana in his cell, and serious criminal authorities sometimes managed to organize banquets within the walls of the colony.
18. Camp 22, Howoren (North Korea)
Founded in 1965, the camp was the only place in the country to which prisoners of war and those who dared to criticize the government were sent. Their families were imprisoned with them for the rest of their lives. According to unofficial data, three generations of dissidents may be held in Camp 22. According to one former guard, about 30 percent of the prisoners have various physical defects, some of whom are missing limbs.
Children are also sent to Camp 22, most of whom do not survive past the age of 10 due to malnutrition. A serious illness in this place is effectively a death sentence: the sick are quarantined and left there without any help.
Torture and medical experiments also occur in Camp 22, after which not all prisoners of this terrible prison survive.
19. La Sabañeta Prison (Maracaibo, Venezuela)
This prison is considered the hell on earth in South America. The colony, designed for 15 thousand people, holds about 25 thousand people, so some have to sleep in hammocks. At La Sabañeta, there are almost 150 prisoners for every one guard, who receives a meager salary. As a result, the prisoners are practically left to their own devices, which results in constant violence.
In 1994, a conflict between two rival gangs broke out there, resulting in more than 100 prisoners being burned alive and hacked to death with machetes.
There are no medical services in the prison, which is why La Sabañeta is constantly experiencing outbreaks of dangerous diseases. Cholera alone has killed about 700 people. The chances of those who end up in this prison surviving until release are minimal.
20. Florence State Penitentiary (Colorado, USA)
The prison for the most dangerous criminals in the United States, which has received the unofficial name "Mountain Alcatraz", has been operating since 1994. Members of the Al-Qaeda group (banned in Russia), heads of drug cartels and criminal syndicates are held here.
The 439 prisoners are locked in their cells for 23 hours a day, with only 60 minutes of exercise or exercise allowed each day. They have no contact with each other and little contact with the guards.
The prisoners' cells are 2.1 by 3.7 metres (7.8 by 12.5 feet) and feature steel doors and bars. The 1.2 by 1.2 metre (4 by 4.8 foot) windows are designed to prevent prisoners from determining their location in the prison complex: they can only see the sky and the roof above, reducing the risk of escape. There are numerous motion sensors and cameras. The space between the wire and the walls is monitored by laser beams and pressure sensors, and guarded by fighting dogs.
Not all prisoners can withstand the strict isolation: there have been four suicides and a considerable number of suicide attempts at Florence Prison.
21. Stanley Prison (Hong Kong)
One of Hong Kong's six most secure sites, it was built in 1937 and remained a popular execution site until the government closed it in 1990. Around 122 criminals were hanged between 1946 and 1966. The prison also became part of an internment camp where 600 prisoners were killed during the Japanese occupation. Refugees attempting to cross the border were also imprisoned. The prison's current inmate population is around 3,000, well above the legal limit.
22. Attica Correctional Facility (New York)
Built in 1930, the prison has housed some of the world's most dangerous criminals. However, it gained its notoriety after a riot on September 9, 1971. Some 2,200 prisoners seized the prison and took thirty-three staff hostage, demanding better living conditions and political rights. Four days of negotiations resulted in the deaths of 39 people, including ten guards and staff.
23. Montelupich Prison (Poland)
One of the most feared Nazi prisons, it was used by the Gestapo throughout World War II to house political prisoners, victims of street raids, deserters, and British and Soviet spies. Between 1940 and 1944, an estimated fifty thousand people were held there. One of the main interrogation methods was brutal medieval torture. After the war, it became the interrogation site for Polish soldiers from the Home Army.
24. Camp 1391 (Northern Israel)
It is a military prison for especially dangerous prisoners, located an hour's drive from Tel Aviv. Its existence was unknown until 2003. Much of the data remains classified, although the Israeli Supreme Court has ordered its disclosure.
25. Kamiti Maximum Security Prison (Nairobi, Kenya)
Situated on 1,200 acres, the prison became known for its incredibly squalid living conditions, as well as beatings to death and cases of sodomy. Malnutrition, ulcers and cholera are commonplace.
26. Black Beach Prison (Malabo, Equatorial Guinea)
This place of detention has acquired its notoriety due to the brutality of the guards, problems with malnutrition, overcrowding, infestations of rats and violation of human rights. Prisoners often die from chronic diseases and also escape. However, no one pays attention to this. They live in constant fear of possible torture and prolonged beatings, after which they sometimes die.
27. Vologda Pyatak (Lake Novoye, Russia)
It's a kind of Russian version of Alcatraz: a prison isolated by a lake and housing the most dangerous criminals. And although prisoners are not subjected to violence from guards or each other, life in a cell without a toilet or sink, surrounded by freezing water and snow, leads to psychological devastation and degeneration.
28. San Juan de Lurigancho (Lima, Peru)
The harshest prison in South America was built to house 2,500 inmates, but currently there are about seven thousand behind its dilapidated walls. There is no strictness or prohibitions as such, and therefore prisoners can sell anything: from various electronic gadgets and DVDs to drugs. Cockfights are a normal occurrence here, as are visits to prostitutes for a “medical examination”. Prisoners wander around the buildings on their own, committing murders and other acts of violence.
29. Rikers Island Prison (New York)
One of America's most notorious prisons, the prison has seen beatings, stabbings, and abuse not only from guards but also from inmates who do it on orders from guards. It gained media attention in 2007 when an 18-year-old inmate was nearly beaten to death with a baton by his cellmates while guards watched. The prison is extremely violent toward the mentally ill, often resulting in suicides.
30. Gldani (Tbilisi, Georgia)
Georgia may have the lowest crime rate in Europe, but it has resulted in tuberculosis epidemics, brutal treatment of prisoners and sexual violence, especially in Gldani.
