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Prison island

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aerial view of Alcatraz, a former island prison near San Francisco, California
Plan of Spike Island, Ireland
The deposed emperor Napoleon on Saint Helena; he spent the last 6 years of his life as a prisoner there.

A prison island is an island housing a prison. Islands have often been used as sites of prisons throughout history due to their natural isolation preventing escape.[1][2]

Prison islands by country

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Oceania

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Bahrain

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Bulgaria

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Canada

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Channel Islands

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China

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Colombia

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Costa Rica

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Croatia

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Eritrea

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Fiji

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France

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Greece

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Hong Kong

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  • Hei Ling Chau
    • Hei Ling Chau Addiction Treatment Centre, 1975–present
    • Hei Ling Chau Correctional Institution, 1994–present
    • Lai Sun Correctional Institution, 1984–present
    • Nei Kwu Correctional Institution, 2002–present
  • Tai A Chau
    • Tai A Chau Detention Centre, 1991–96

India

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Indonesia

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  • Buru, prison in 1960s–1970s
  • Nusa Kambangan, notorious prison island off the southern coast of Java, containing a number of prisons

Ireland

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  • Spike Island, County Cork, a prison from as early as the 17th century (current structure is an 18th century bastion fort named Fort Mitchel). It closed in 2004 and is now a museum.

Isle of Man

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Italy

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Japan

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Madagascar

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Malaysia

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  • Jerejak Island, location of the Jerejak Rehabilitation Centre from 1969 to 1993; called the 'Alcatraz of Malaysia'

Maldives

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Mexico

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Montenegro

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Namibia

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New Zealand

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Norway

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Panama

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  • Coiba, prison from 1919 to 2004

Peru

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Portugal

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Russia

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Saint Helena

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Seychelles

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Singapore

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South Africa

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  • Robben Island, location of Robben Island Prison from 1961 to 1996. The Island was used to incarcerate political prisoners as early as the 17th Century, and later during the Xhosa Wars

South Korea

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Syria

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  • Arwad, prison under French colonial rule

Taiwan

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Tanzania

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  • Changuu, known as 'Prison Island'; held rebellious slaves in 1860s

Timor Leste

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  • Atauro, used as prison by Portugal and Indonesia

Trinidad and Tobago

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Tonga

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Thailand

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  • Ko Tao Between 1943 and 1944, Koh Tao was used as a political prison.

Turkey

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United Kingdom/Republic of Ireland

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United States

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Vietnam

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Prison islands in fiction

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References

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  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-04-07. Retrieved 2017-11-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "Ten Infamous Islands of Exile | History | Smithsonian Magazine".
  3. ^ "Last island prison in U.S. Closes".
  4. ^ Ankara, Chris Morris in (1999-02-20). "Turkey makes sure its prison island is deserted for a new Kurdish inmate". the Guardian. Retrieved 2021-06-09.