From maximum security prisons on a tiny island in the middle of the sea to cells so packed with people that disease can spread with no escape, we count 15 of the hardest and most brutal prisons in the world
15 – Bang Kwang Prison,
- Located in Bangkok, Thailand, it’s nicknamed the “Bangkok Hilton” but even so, not a place to go on your honeymoon
- Torture is routine here, inmates crammed into tiny cells, one bowl of rice per day, prisoners are required to wear leg irons for the first three months of their stay
- Even worse is for death row inmates – leg irons are welded onto their legs permanently, and they’re given as little as two hours notice before they’re dragged off for execution
14 – Petak Island Prison,
- A place in White Lake, Russia, set on an island surrounded by water housing some of the country’s most dangerous prisoners
- Violence here is surprisingly low, and that’s because for 22 hours a day they’re shoved in a cage with one inmate, no lavatories, washing facilities or chance of release – you will spend your whole life in that cell
- The inmates are surrounded by cold water and snow, a year spent adapting to this new, bleak world – after a few years their personalities decompose, 20 years and you begin to lose your mind
13 – Kamiti Maximum Security,
- This is a prison designed to hold just under 1,500 occupants, but is instead overflowing with 3,600 in grimy, unbearable conditions
- Since there’s no decent water supply, the inmates are required to haul buckets of it everyday in scorching heat just to survive
- “G” Block is especially notorious for its violence, rape and sodomy that goes on endlessly, videos released from mobile phone cameras showing workers beating on inmates – it certainly doesn’t help their image
12 – Tadmor,
- A prison in Syria that sends chills up the spines of criminals – basically a butcher house for inmates, described as a “kingdom of death and madness”
- Evidence shows guards, filled with hate and power, carving up prisoners using axes and blades, non-violent criminals left to starve and turn into living skeletons in almost concentration camp conditions
- After one assassination attempt on the president, 500 prisoners were attacked in their cells and slaughtered, body parts chopped up in the courtyards and disposed
11 – La Sabaneta,
- Venezuela, South America, 25,000 inmates kept in a prison designed for 15,000, violence and corruption running savage in a place undermanned with 1 guard for every 150 prisoners
- Since there are so many prisoners, some are forced to sleep in makeshift hammocks strung in pipe-access corridors, while rich inmates pay off guards in order to get the nicest cells
- Over the years, there have been a number of mass murder incidents, including a 1995 attack that saw almost 200 prisoners killed and 600 wounded
Criminals need to be punished for their crimes but they don’t deserve the cruel mistreatment they get in these prisons.