The Deadliest Prisons From Around The World

The Gidani Prison, Georgia

Image Source: Reddit

In 2012, an array of hidden videos were released showing horrific things going on inside the prison. The Government were forced to take immediate action and had to make a full investigation in to the guards. Many of which were found to be torturing, beating and even sexually abusing the inmates.

Camp 14, North Korea

Image Source: Daily Star

Right in the centre of North Korea, its safest spot, there is a concentration camp, or as they call it, a political prisoner camp. The inmates are starved of food and forced to work as slaves for the country. They even imprison people just for being related to someone suspected of crimes.

Camp 22, North Korea

Image Source: Daily Mail

Supposedly this camp was shut in 2012, but thanks to the secrecy of the of North Korea there's no proving this is true. Inmates were tortured, in a number of ways, all of which violating everyone's human rights. It was even rumoured inmates were killed following experimentation of them, mirroring concentration camps from World War II.

Black Dolphin, Russia

Image Source: Reddit

Black Dolphin has been likened to ADX Florence here in the US (we'll get to there later) as the home to the worst criminals in Russia. 700 inmates are housed here and between them they have killed more than 5x the population of the prison. In fact, criminals are blindfolded around the prison so they can't plan escapes!

ADX Florence, Colorado

Image Source: Reddit

ADX is actually a supermax prison, which means they have a higher level of security and surveillance in comparison to a traditional prison. The 323 prisoners here are kept in reinforced concrete cells for 23 hours of everyday. A number of domestic and foreign terrorists are housed here including the Boston Marathon Bomber and some linked to 9/11.

San Quentin, California

Image Source: NBC News

San Quentin is the oldest prison to be found within California and it's also known to be one of the most dangerous ones in the whole world. It houses a number of serial killers and dangerous inmates, all of which posing a risk to one another. Many dangerous criminals given the life sentence have their lives terminated here as they have a gas chamber and death row.

HMP Belmarsh, UK

Image Source: IBTimes UK

This UK prison has been getting more and more dangerous in the last few years, with inmate violence going through the roof between their inspections. As a result of the inmates being allowed to roam for periods of the day, there have been a number of attacks on both other inmates and the guards. This could have something to do with the intimidation noted by the guards.

Mumbai Central Prison, India

Image Source: Frontline- The Hindu

Also known as Arthur Road Jail, this is the oldest prison found in Mumbai, India. Unfortunately, its main problems have always come as a result of overcrowding, with more than 2000 people housed there than it was built for. It doesn't help that they're overcrowding a group of dangerous criminals either.

Butyrka, Russia

Image Source: The Mirror

It's no surprise that Russia are quite hard on the inmates within their jails, and Butyrka is no exception. The facility is completely overwhelmed with inmates. Supposedly cells meant for 10 people are filled with 100 people and dr*g abuse has become a common issue.  Political prisoners make up much of the population.

Attica Correctional Facility, Attica

Image Source: Reddit

This facility was overtaken by the inmates in the 70's in an attempt to get better conditions within the prison, although the state turned to violence and killed 30 inmates and 9 of their own guards who were being held hostage. Famous inmates include Mark Chapman (the man who killed John Lennon) and the Son of Sam.

Tadmur Prison, Syria

Image Source: CBC

In 1980 the president of Syria, Hafez-al-Assad survived an assassination attempt on his life. This was religiously motivated and so, in a fit of rage he demanded that soldiers killed every single prisoner in sight. More than 1000 muslim brotherhood prisoners were ruthlessly killed.

Bang Kwang Central Prison, Thailand

Image Source: Twitter

Bang Kwang is the home of Thailand's death row and execution chamber, holding more than 6000 inmates. Each of the inmates have to wear irons around their leg and, until 2013 they were welded on permanently! No executions have taken place for more than 10 years now but the prison is still very dangerous.

Klong Prem Central Prison, Thailand

Image Source: Bangkok Post

Klong Prem is the max security prison in Thailand that houses foreign prisoners and Female death row prisoners. It has housed a number of dangerous foreign prisoners including the man at the right hand of the person who developed the silk road dark web. It's safer than Bang Kwang though.

Mendoza Prison, Argentina

Image Source: Twitter

It's hard to believe that prisons are allowed to be used when they look like this! Prisoners are forced to squeeze in to tiny 4sqm cells and sleep on the cold concrete floor. There are no toilets either, something which has caused outrage amongst inmates multiple times and led to riots.

Diyarbakir Prison, Turkey

Image Source: Reddit

Diyarbakir became one of the most notorious jails in the world after its opening years in which the prisoners were systematically tortured. More than 30 inmates have been killed across the years, including an incident in 1996 when a group of wardens stormed the prison attacking the inmates.

La Sabaneta, Venezuela

Image Source: TIME

La Sabaneta had to be closed in 2013 after issues of overcrowding and gang violence became too frequent. It was essentially ran by the prisoners (gangs) and in 1994, 150 people were killed in a gang related riot. The government had to regularly raid the prison to remove weapons from the gangs.

The Penitentiary Of New Mexico, New Mexico

Image Source: OnlyInYourState

This place is most famous for staging the most violent prison riot in the history of the US when inmates took over, taking guards hostage. Some inmates were dismembered, some were decapitated, it was a horrific time for the state. Many of these members ended up finding themselves in the supermax part of the prison after the incident.

Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, Kenya

Image Source: Citizen Digital

This maximum security prison was originally built in order to house political prisoners although it is now overfilled with almost 2x the amount for which it was built. Inmates are treated inhumanely and there isn't a constant supply of water. The 'G' block became famous for predatory behaviour and use of mobile phones after a beating was filmed and sent to Kenyan news channels in 2008.

Anisio Jobim Penitentiary, Brazil

Image Source: UNODC

In 2016 a number of prison rebellions took place across Brazil, the first of which occurred here at Anisio Jobim. Two drug trafficking gangs clashed and 56 prisoners were killed. The inmates were told to attack the rival gangs via members who were on the outside which caused one of the biggest prison massacres ever,

Agricultural Penitentiary of Monte Cristo, Brazil

Image Source: CNN

A year prior to the riots at Anisio Jobim, 25 inmates were killed at the Monte Cristo Penitentiary; some of these inmates were beheaded or burned to death! This was another gang related incident, and some of the inmates relatives who were visiting the prison ended up being taken hostage until the situation was resolved.

La Modelo, Colombia

Image Source: Los Angeles Times

There's no wonder violence breaks out here, the prison holds more than 11,000 inmates! They've had to split the two wings of the prison in to right and left wing political supporters, and between the two is where many killings take place. There was a huge battle in 2000 and in 2016 dismembered parts of 100 people were found in the drains.

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

Image Source: Reddit

Guantanamo is probably the most well known of the prisons on this list, so it should be no shock that it's very dangerous. Inmates have been known to be tortured here and some guards have been known to be abusive. Human rights have even been broken as inmates on a hunger strike were force fed via their anus!

Ciudad Barrios, El Salvador

Image Source: Adam Hinton

Despite inmates being given the chance to run their own businesses within the prison, gang violence has caused Ciudad to be one of the most dangerous prisons worldwide. The MS-13 gang essentially run the whole prison thanks to the prisoners outnumbering the guards 50-1.

La Sante Prison, France

Image Source: The Guardian

La Sante has been used as a prison since the French Revolution and can hold up to 2000 inmates. The prison was known to have very poor standards and had to be closed in 2014 for FIVE years to get it up to standards. There has also been somewhat of a class system that's developed, which caused a number of suicide attempts.

Petak Island, Russia

Image Source: All That's Interesting

Petak Island, is basically the Russian Alcatraz, housing (some of) the worst of the worst of Russian criminals. The inmates are confined in tiny two man cells for 23 hours a day and the rest of their time is spent in tiny one man cages. Each inmate is tortured regularly and they have no toilet facilities.

Vladimir Central Prison, Russia

Image Source: The Mirror

This is another overcrowded and diseased prison within Russia, one that holds prisoners serving over 10 years to life. A number of political prisoners have been held here, including the son of Joseph Stalin. A number of accounts have appeared mentioning how the guards have been known to torture and beat inmates to death.

Muhanga Prison, Rwanda

Image Source: KT Press

Muhanga is another of the prisons around the world that has been overcrowded for a period way too long. The conditions, mixed with this overcrowding make it an inhumane place to keep prisoners. The prisoners here are crazy, some of whom have turned to cannibalism, yep you read that right, to keep them going.

Rikers Island, New York

Image Source: The New York Times

Considering that this facility is only meant to hold small sentence prisoners and those awaiting transfer it might seem weird to appear on this list. Despite this, a number of inmates have release that they live in fear of the officers, some of which have been known to personally beat, or request other prisoners attack inmates.

Carandiru, Brazil

Image Source: Reddit

Another Brazilian prison that suffered from numerous human rights violations and its poor quality of life for its inmates. These poor living facilities resulted in a huge riot and then incident with the military. They were called in and ended up killing more than 100 unarmed prisoners, with an unnecessary amount of bullets.

Alcatraz, California

Image Source: Reddit

Yes, this place closed back in 1963 but it will always remain one of the most notorious prisons of all time. The prison was found on an island and this was deemed the perfect place to house the US' most dangerous criminals. It sent a number of its prisoners loopy, and popular inmates included: Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly (not the artist).