When you hear the phrase 10 secret prisons, you might picture an underground bunker or a remote island shack. In reality, governments across the globe have built a network of concealed detention centers where torture, intimidation, and inhumane conditions are the norm. Below, we rank ten of the most notorious hidden facilities, unpacking their grim histories, notorious inmates, and the chilling details that have surfaced over the years.

10 Salt Pit Afghanistan

The Salt Pit was a covert CIA‑run black site tucked away in Afghanistan. Established after the 9/11 attacks, its purpose was to detain individuals suspected of terrorist ties. Torture was routine, with detainees enduring mock executions and other brutal punishments.

Originally a brick factory, the facility was converted into a grim maze of tiny, windowless cells lacking toilets—prisoners were forced to relieve themselves into buckets. Stripped naked, they slept on cold concrete, while operatives blasted loud music as a form of psychological torment.

Among the victims, Dr. Ghairat Baheer spent six months chained to a chair with an operative sitting on his stomach. Gul Rahman, the only verified death at the site, suffered repeated beatings, was drenched in water, and ultimately died of hypothermia on November 20, 2002. The CIA never returned his body or informed his family of his death.

9 Camp 7 Guantanamo Bay

While Guantanamo Bay itself is infamous, it houses an even more secretive enclave known as Camp 7. Concealed from public view, this hidden wing opened in 2006 and remained undisclosed for two years. Only a handful of insiders knew of its existence, and journalists were barred from entry.

Red Cross inspectors were permitted only under a strict non‑disclosure agreement. Camp 7 housed 15 “high‑value” detainees, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks.

Allegations of torture surfaced when inmate Ramzi Bin al‑Shibh complained of constant vibrations and strange noises in his cell. The U.S. military initially dismissed his claims, but in 2014 the Pentagon admitted the noises were real, attributing them to structural decay. Funding requests for repairs were denied by Congress.

8 Penny Lane Guantanamo Bay

Penny Lane, launched in 2003, was a stark contrast to typical detention centers. Detainees lived in comfortable cottages equipped with plush beds, kitchens, patios, showers, and televisions. Luxuries even extended to on‑demand pornography.

The site catered exclusively to confirmed terrorists being groomed as double agents. After intensive training, they were released back into their terrorist networks to feed intelligence to the CIA, often in exchange for multi‑million‑dollar payouts.

Despite its opulent façade, the program faltered. Some agents never reported back, while others were coerced under threats to their families. By 2006, the double‑agent initiative was terminated.

7 The Resort North Korea

Dubbed “The Resort,” this facility mirrors Penny Lane but serves a different elite: blacklisted relatives and officials of North Korea’s ruling class. Situated near Hyanghari, merely 50 km from the Chinese border, it resembles a small, well‑guarded town rather than a prison.

Housing roughly 1,000 inmates, many families cohabit, creating a quasi‑communal environment. Prisoners receive regular meals, no forced labor, and relatively comfortable living conditions, which discourages escape attempts.

Notable detainees include Kim Song Ae, former second wife of the late Kim Il‑Sung, and an aunt of Kim Jong Un, the widow of Jang Song Taek, who was incarcerated after her husband’s 2013 execution.

6 Cat’s Eye Thailand

Also known as Detention Site Green, Cat’s Eye was a clandestine CIA prison in Thailand, its exact location still shrouded in mystery—rumors place it near Bangkok or Udon Thani. Both the CIA and Thai authorities deny its existence.

Exposed by a 2014 U.S. Senate report that listed the location as “Country [REDACTED],” the site was hastily erected in 2002 to house Abu Zubaydah, a suspected al‑Qaeda operative.

Abu endured relentless waterboarding inside a coffin‑sized box, while the prison’s second detainee, Abd al‑Rahim al‑Nashiri, joined in November 2002. Both suffered sleep deprivation, beatings, forced nudity, and a punishment dubbed “walling,” where they were slammed against walls. The facility reportedly shut down in December 2002, with prisoners transferred to a Polish black site.

5 Temara Interrogation Center Morocco

The Temara Interrogation Center, located near Rabat, began as a CIA‑run secret interrogation hub post‑9/11 before morphing into a joint Moroccan‑CIA prison. While the CIA initially oversaw operations, Moroccan authorities soon used the site to detain political prisoners.

French‑Moroccan Zakaria Moumni recounted being told he was in a “slaughterhouse” that would leave him in pieces. Oussama Boutahar, a former Bosnian militia fighter, claimed Moroccan interrogators tortured him at the behest of the United States.

A U.S. Senate report revealed CIA awareness of Moroccan‑run torture, leading to a strained partnership. Although the CIA considered abandoning Temara, the plan was later abandoned. Morocco continues to deny any wrongdoing.

4 Camp Lemonnier Djibouti

Djibouti, a tiny Horn‑of‑Africa nation bordering Somalia and Yemen, hosts the U.S. military base Camp Lemonnier. From here, the United States launches drone strikes across the region.

Unconfirmed reports suggest the CIA operates a clandestine detention center on the base. Congressional insiders claim knowledge of the facility, noting that some detainees may be innocent.

Former prisoner Mohammed Abdullah Saleh Asad alleges torture before being transferred to an Afghan black site. Mahdi Hashi, another alleged detainee, says he was kidnapped in Mogadishu and imprisoned after refusing to spy for British intelligence.

3 Unnamed Gay Prisons Chechnya

Chechnya, a Muslim‑majority Russian republic, has become infamous for covert detention centers targeting gay men. Under the rule of Ramzan Kadyrov, these secret prisons subject detainees to repeated torture, often resulting in death.

Russia’s anti‑LGBT laws provide a legal backdrop, but Chechen authorities prefer abduction and clandestine incarceration. Journalists exposing these sites, such as those from Novaya Gazeta, have faced murders and intimidation, with at least six reporters killed.

2 Unnamed Prisons Ukraine

Between 2014 and 2016, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) operated a clandestine prison in Kharkiv, detaining individuals suspected of supporting Russian aggression during the annexation of Crimea.

The SBU denied the facility’s existence, labeling accusations as Russian propaganda. Independent investigations concluded without definitive findings. Mykola Vakaruk, held for roughly 600 days, recounts brutal beatings for every wrong answer, a freezing 2‑square‑meter cell that caused ice to form, and the loss of a kidney due to prolonged exposure.

After international pressure, Ukraine released many detainees, offering minimal compensation (100 hryvnias, about $3.80) and threats to silence them. Human Rights groups allege additional secret prisons existed in Kramatorsk, Izium, and Mariupol.

1 Black Jails China

China’s “black jails” are illegal detention centers run by provincial and local governments. Citizens are expected to lodge grievances with local authorities; those who fail to obtain justice may travel to Beijing to appeal to the central government.

To avoid being marked in Beijing’s “black books,” local officials employ a network of over 10,000 operatives who kidnap, detain, and torture complainants. Facilities are often repurposed homes, psychiatric wards, or guesthouses.

In 2009, estimates suggested 73 black jails existed within Beijing. Initially denied, the central government later acknowledged their existence.

These ten covert detention sites reveal a dark underbelly of state power, where secrecy shields abuse and victims are left voiceless. Understanding these hidden prisons is the first step toward accountability and reform.

Below we dive into 10 horrifying stories of communist prisons and labor camps, each a chilling reminder of how ideology can be twisted into terror. From the infamous S‑21 facility in Cambodia to the gruesome Pitesti Experiment in Romania, these accounts expose the brutal tactics, relentless torture, and massive loss of life that defined these repressive regimes.

10 Horrifying Stories Overview

This overview sets the stage for the ten terrifying tales that follow, highlighting the systematic cruelty inflicted upon countless inmates across continents and decades.

10 21

In 1960, two Khmer men—Saloth Sar and Nuon Chea—formed a small, Mao‑inspired communist cell that would later be known as the Communist Party of Kampuchea, better recognized by its French moniker, the Khmer Rouge or “Red Khmers.” Saloth Sar eventually adopted the name Pol Pot as his own.

From 1960 until 1975, the Khmer Rouge waged a guerrilla war against the Kingdom of Cambodia, which was backed by the United States and France. Though initially supported by Ho Chi Minh’s Vietnamese communists, the alliance fractured, culminating in a full‑scale Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in 1979.

The regime’s brutality sparked the infamous “Year Zero” policy in 1975, forcing two million city dwellers from Phnom Penh and other urban areas into forced agricultural labor. The Khmer Rouge outlawed money, markets, schooling, private ownership, religion, and many facets of traditional Khmer culture. To enforce obedience, they erected re‑education camps nationwide, the most notorious being S‑21.

When Vietnam seized Phnom Penh, the guards at S‑21 fled, abandoning a trove of photographs and letters from prisoners. Estimates suggest that about 30,000 individuals passed through S‑21, with roughly 12,000 murdered.

Former camp commander Duch, whose real name was Kaing Guek Eav, later testified before an international tribunal, detailing torture methods such as beatings with sticks, electric shocks, suffocation with plastic bags, and a crude water‑boarding technique employing a towel and water. Inmates also endured electric‑wire whippings, and female prisoners faced rape and sexual assault. Some former Khmer Rouge members admitted that while the official aim of torture was to extract confessions, it was frequently carried out for sheer personal gratification.

Between 1975 and 1979, Pol Pot’s reign resulted in the deaths of 1.5 to 2 million Cambodians. Pol Pot himself died in 1998 at the age of 72.

9 Vietnam’s Reeducation Camps

Even after ousting the genocidal Khmer Rouge, Vietnam’s communist regime cannot be labeled a humanitarian beacon. Following the North’s victorious takeover of the South in 1975, the new government instituted a network of brutal re‑education camps across the nation.

Estimates indicate that between one and 2.5 million individuals entered these camps in 1975 alone, promised swift “re‑education” in Marxist‑Leninist doctrine. The camps were stratified into five levels. Level‑one camps functioned as study centers, allowing inmates to return home each night, while level‑two camps imposed similar indoctrination but barred nightly returns for three to six months. Roughly 700,000 people endured both level‑one and level‑two programs.

Level‑three camps, termed socialist reform camps, housed about 50,000 inmates. Levels‑four and five mirrored level‑three in their harsh labor demands, targeting those deemed less receptive to socialist ideology—intellectuals, Roman Catholics, teachers, legislators, and judges. Even as late as 1987, approximately 15,000 prisoners remained incarcerated.

It is believed that as many as 165,000 Vietnamese perished in these camps between 1975 and 1990, though the true toll may be higher. Considering that the first re‑education facilities were launched in North Vietnam in 1961, it is plausible that over one million Vietnamese lost their lives in communist‑run camps across both the North and South.

8 The Xinjiang Camps

The far‑western Chinese region of Xinjiang has endured centuries of conflict. In 1775, the Qing Empire, ruled by Manchu elites, launched a campaign that exterminated between 480,000 and 500,000 Dzungar Mongols—roughly 80 % of their population—while the survivors were enslaved.

Today, the Uyghur minority faces a massive government crackdown. Roughly one million people are believed to be detained in internment facilities across China, representing about ten percent of the entire Uyghur population.

The stated aim of these camps is to “re‑educate” Uyghurs and erase their ethnic and religious identity. Inmates are forced to converse in Mandarin and are reportedly required to proclaim, “I’m not a Muslim,” each day. Similar pressures are applied to other minorities, including Hui Muslims, Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Turkmen, and even non‑Muslim groups.

In 2018, Uyghur activists told Radio Free Asia that the Xinjiang camps are squalid work sites where detainees must praise Xi Jinping daily, sing communist anthems, and publicly confess to “crimes” such as attending a mosque or traveling abroad. Former inmate Kayrat Samarkand, a Kazakh, recounted grueling interrogations lasting several days and described being forced to wear a metal suit weighing over 23 kg (50 lb) as a form of torture.

The Chinese government justifies these measures by citing Islamist terrorism within its borders and highlighting Uyghur involvement in conflicts in Syria and Afghanistan alongside ISIS and Al‑Qaeda affiliates.

7 ‘Farewell To The World’

Few outside the Ethiopian diaspora are familiar with the Derg, officially the Provisional Military Government of Socialist Ethiopia, which seized power in 1974 and ruled until 1987. During its tenure, Ethiopia endured multiple humanitarian catastrophes: a massive famine, economic collapse, and costly wars against Eritrean and Tigrayan forces. The most devastating period occurred between 1984 and 1986, when a two‑year drought triggered a famine that afflicted 5.8 million people, followed by locust and grasshopper plagues in 1986. In total, these crises claimed 1.2 million lives.

Beyond these “natural” disasters—largely the product of forced villagization and oppression—the Derg orchestrated a massive campaign of terror known as the Red Terror. Announced after the Derg seized Addis Ababa, the Red Terror saw troops and communist militias storm homes and villages in search of “counter‑revolutionaries.” Estimates suggest up to 50,000 people were killed during this purge.

Many Red Terror victims were incarcerated at Alem Bekagn, meaning “Farewell to the World,” a prison in Addis Ababa already infamous for the 1937 Yekatit 12 massacre carried out by Italian fascists. Under the Derg, Alem Bekagn became a site of torture and mass execution. Argentine forensic experts uncovered several mass graves there in 1990. One of the worst atrocities, the Massacre of Sixty, involved Derg officials executing 60 former officials of Emperor Haile Selassie’s government. Other victims included Ethiopian teenagers, suspected anti‑communists, and intellectuals. The African Union estimates that 10,000 people were executed at Alem Bekagn, with thousands more dying from overcrowding and disease.

6 Lenin’s Gulags

Many Soviet apologists claim that Vladimir Lenin, the first communist ruler of Bolshevik Russia, was not a genocidal monster like Stalin. This view overlooks how Lenin expanded the Tsarist Siberian prison system into the notorious “gulag archipelago.”

By 1920, Russia operated about 84 labor and prison camps designed to “rehabilitate” enemies of the Soviet state. By 1923, the network swelled to over 300 camps, holding roughly 70,000 inmates. As early as 1918, Leon Trotsky wrote that the Soviet regime intended to modernize Russia on the backs of slave labor, referring to inmates as “vermin” who must endure “thousands of forms and means of practical reckoning by the communes themselves.” In practice, this meant forced labor to death on railroads and factories.

Lenin’s feared secret police, the Cheka, also ran its own camps. In 1920, 100,000 Russian citizens were convicted by Cheka courts and sentenced to forced labor. The Cheka facilities were built to house only 40,000‑60,000 inmates. Across these camps, unsanitary conditions caused thousands of deaths from disease, while starvation, overwork, and executions claimed the rest. Corruption ran rampant, with career criminals given freedom to prey upon fellow prisoners.

5 The Belene Labor Camp

The Belene Labor Camp, often labeled a “concentration” camp by Western observers, evokes the same horror associated with the Nazi Holocaust. Operated intermittently from 1949 to 1989 on Belene Island in Bulgaria, the facility detained thousands of political prisoners alongside hardened criminals, whom guards encouraged to terrorize the political detainees.

During the 1950s, hundreds of inmates succumbed to malnutrition and exhaustion while forced to fell trees, harvest vegetables, and perform other grueling manual labor with scant food or water. Prisoners who broke camp rules were sometimes used as target practice or cast adrift at sea to freeze to death.

The camp officially closed in 1959 after Soviet‑directed anti‑Stalinist purges. Nonetheless, during the 1970s and 1980s, Bulgarian Muslims and ethnic Turks opposing the government’s assimilation campaigns were detained on Belene Island under squalid conditions for months or years. Earlier, in the 1950s, Christian pastors were frequently sent to the camp as “spies.” One inmate, Haralan Popov, authored a book detailing how guards attempted to convert religious prisoners to atheism, often torturing those who resisted for days on end.

4 Castro’s Concentration Camps

The term “concentration camp” first emerged on Cuba’s verdant island in the late 19th century, originally describing Spanish‑run camps for Cuban independence supporters. The United States later used the term to justify the Spanish‑American War of 1898.

Decades later, Fidel Castro’s communist regime resurrected concentration camps for the Cuban populace. Under the innocuous name Military Units to Help Production (UMAP), the government began imprisoning anyone deemed “counter‑revolutionary” in November 1965. Humiliation, torture, and rape were commonplace, and many inmates chose suicide over starvation or disease.

The purpose of these camps was to “re‑educate” Cubans in the virtues of socialism. Religious Christians, rock‑and‑roll fans, long‑haired men, and those perceived as overly Western were forced into hard labor. Homosexuals were singled out as “scum,” deemed unworthy of the same rights as heterosexuals.

Like the infamous Nazi concentration and extermination camps, the UMAP facilities displayed slogans such as “Work Will Make Men Out of You.”

3 Laogai

Laogai, roughly translating to “reform through labor,” were modeled after Soviet gulags and opened following Mao Zedong’s rise to absolute power in 1949. Though renamed, hundreds of these camps continue operating throughout China today.

Harry Wu, a survivor who spent 19 years in a Laogai camp and now runs the Laogai Museum in the United States, claims that at the height of Mao’s rule, roughly 40 million Chinese were interned. Inmates were forced to labor for endless hours under dangerous conditions, with food and water scarcely provided, prompting theft among prisoners. The camps also allegedly harvested organs from detainees, a practice alleged to persist.

Wu describes the “tiger chair,” a brutal torture device where prisoners are bound, gagged, and forced to sit on a bench with bricks placed under their legs, compelling them to endure excruciating positions for hours or days. Mao’s regime also oversaw the Great Chinese Famine (1958‑1961), which may have claimed 30 million lives, and the Cultural Revolution (1966‑1976), during which radicalized youth publicly denounced teachers and family members as “counter‑revolutionaries.” Show trials and “struggle sessions” forced confessions, leading many to be sent to labor camps or executed. Death toll estimates for this era range from 1.5 to 7.7 million.

2 Stalin’s Gulags

No communist leader eclipses Joseph Stalin in infamy. Though credited with industrializing Russia, Stalin achieved this by murdering millions via overwork, starvation, and execution. The Great Purge alone saw 20 million people killed by state forces, while forced collectivization caused additional massive fatalities. For instance, Kazakhstan’s forced collectivization (1930‑1933) resulted in a famine that killed 1.5 million, and Ukraine’s Holodomor (1932‑1933) claimed roughly three million lives, with an estimated 28,000 Ukrainians dying of starvation each day.

Stalin expanded Lenin’s gulag system to accommodate those opposed to collectivization. Criminals and gangsters were housed alongside political prisoners, with guards encouraging them to brutalize inmates. Those lacking connections endured 14‑hour workdays, performing tasks such as lumber cutting, dam ditch digging, and ore and coal mining. Prisoners subsisted on starvation diets, leading many to die from malnutrition, dehydration, exhaustion, and lung diseases caused by inhaling dust.

Survivors like Varlam Shalamov and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn chronicled the inhuman conditions of the gulags, where murder and robbery were commonplace among starving inmates. Former guard Danzig Baldaev produced graphic sketches depicting forced feeding, gangsters urinating on beaten inmates, decapitations, insertion of soldering irons into intimate regions, and the existence of female and child sex slavery.

1 The Pitesti Experiment

Between 1949 and 1951, Romania witnessed an atrocity so grotesque it shocked even hardened Soviet officials. Known as the Pitesti Experiment, these re‑education trials unfolded inside Pitesti Prison under the direction of Ana Pauker and Eugen Turcanu. Pauker, an Orthodox‑Jewish lifelong leftist previously involved with Romania’s Social Democratic and Socialist parties, partnered with Turcanu, a former convict and ex‑member of the anti‑Semitic Iron Guard.

Together, they transformed Pitesti Prison into a laboratory aimed at forging new communists from the remnants of pre‑communist Romania. Victims included former officials of Ion Antonescu’s regime, Iron Guard members, landowners, diplomats, Orthodox and Catholic priests, intellectuals, and Jews labeled “Zionist.” These prisoners were branded “enemies of the people,” and subjected to a spectrum of torture by Turcanu, Pauker, and their subordinates.

Methods of torture were grotesque: inmates who refused to renounce Christianity were forced to partake in a “communion” of fecal matter; those who would not confess were compelled to submerge their hands in urine‑filled chamber pots; prisoners were made to spit into the mouths of suspected spies; and on Christmas, detainees were forced to mock the Nativity. Survivors recount that Turcanu especially tormented priests, baptizing them each morning with urine and feces, holding their heads inside putrid buckets nearly to the point of drowning.

The experiment’s goal was to coerce prisoners into confessing that they deserved such punishment for past anti‑communist deeds, while simultaneously eradicating any sense of individualism. Physical torture was paired with prolonged solitary confinement, often carried out by fellow inmates—typically students recruited because of their non‑communist affiliations. Prisoners were forced to eat while kneeling on the floor with hands tied behind their backs, often consuming each other’s excrement. On Easter 1950, inmates were compelled to kiss a phallus‑shaped insect‑repellent paper, and on most other days were encouraged to commit suicide—a practice that guards sometimes halted only to prolong suffering.

The experiments ceased when Gheorghe Gheorghiu‑Dej, the Romanian Communist Party’s General Secretary, successfully lobbied Stalin to purge Pauker and her supporters. Pauker was accused of Zionism and nationalist sympathies for Jewish immigration to Israel. Turcanu stood trial in 1954 and was executed by firing squad on December 17, 1954. After his death, the Party attempted to pin all crimes on Pauker and Turcanu, though contemporary scholars generally agree the party itself fostered the experiments.

For most inmates, imprisonment means spending days confined within four walls, hearing the clamor of fellow prisoners, and feeling the weight of isolation. When a prison is finally shut down, the lingering memories turn the empty corridors into a chilling tableau. In this article we showcase 10 disturbing eerie photographs of abandoned prisons, each with its own dark tale.

10 Disturbing Eerie Snapshots of Abandoned Prisons

10 Old New Mexico State Penitentiary

Hard‑core criminals sparked two violent riots at the Old New Mexico State Penitentiary before the facility was relocated in 1956. By the 1970s the prison was bursting at the seams, and a newly introduced “snitch system” ignited a fierce backlash among inmates. On February 2‑3, 1980, the prisoners seized control of the complex, taking twelve guards hostage while thirty‑three inmates were brutally murdered by fellow inmates—some tortured as retribution for informing on wardens. Though the guards survived, seven suffered severe beatings and sexual assault.

It took a full thirty‑six hours for police to wrest back authority. Parts of the structure were shut down shortly thereafter and the remaining inmates transferred elsewhere. Today the Old Main of the New Mexico State Penitentiary sits largely deserted; a few sections serve as storage for movie props. Unsurprisingly, many who have toured the empty cells claim to hear phantom whispers and see shadowy figures drifting through the corridors.

9 Sinop Prison

Sinop Prison, perched within the historic Sinop Fortress, dates back to 1887 and earned a reputation as one of Turkey’s oldest detention facilities. In 1939 a two‑storey wing with nine halls was added to accommodate juvenile offenders.

The fortress’s proximity to the sea created a perpetually damp, chilly atmosphere that made even lighting a match a struggle. The prison also became notorious for housing a litany of intellectuals—journalists, politicians, teachers, and poets—who found themselves behind its walls.

Decommissioned in 1997, the inmates were relocated to a newer complex. Today the fortress‑prison welcomes visitors, and plans are afoot to transform its interior into a maritime and justice museum.

8 Her Majesty’s Prison Pentridge

Established in 1851 in Coburg, Victoria, Her Majesty’s Prison Pentridge originally divided its inmates into alphabet‑named sections—A for well‑behaved long‑term prisoners, B for those with poor conduct, G for the mentally ill, and so forth. By the time the doors closed in 1997, the sprawling complex housed over a thousand souls. Among its infamous residents was the legendary bushranger Ned Kelly, whose remains were unearthed in a mass grave in 2009.

While portions of the derelict structure have been repurposed into residential developments, several original divisions remain intact and now serve as venues for ghost tours, inviting daring visitors to explore the lingering specters of its grim past.

7 Candido Mendes

Ilha Grande, a picture‑perfect island off Rio de Janeiro’s coast, hides a grim secret: an abandoned high‑security penitentiary. In 1886 the Lazaretto Hospital opened on the island to quarantine contagious patients. Overcrowding soon plagued the facility, prompting the construction of a modest prison that eventually merged with the hospital, evolving into the military detention center known as Colonia Candido Mendes by 1942.

During wartime the prison shuttered, only to reopen in 1930. As gangs entrenched themselves, violence spiraled out of control, culminating in a 1994 shutdown. One inmate, Julio de Almeida, serving a 28‑year sentence for murder, theft, and attempted escape, elected to remain on the island after the closure, effectively turning the desolate compound into his solitary home.

The ruins now stand as a haunting reminder of the island’s dark chapter, their crumbling walls echoing stories of brutality and isolation.

6 Carabanchel Prison

Opened in 1944 during Spain’s Franco era, Carabanchel Prison quickly became a symbol of political repression. Its panopticon‑style architecture housed political prisoners, unionists, terrorists, and LGBTQ individuals, many of whom endured executions, torture, and relentless abuse.

The facility was decommissioned in 1998, prompting the relocation of its 2,500 inmates. In the wake of its closure, vandals stripped the building of doors, railings, and any salvageable metal. The empty shells later served as a refuge for drug addicts, undocumented migrants, and the homeless.

Ultimately, the decaying structure was razed in 2008, erasing much of its physical presence but leaving an indelible scar on Spain’s collective memory.

5 Goli Otok Prison

Perched on a barren Croatian island, Goli Otok functioned as a political prison from 1949 until 1989 under Yugoslav rule. The camp held Stalinists and anyone suspected of sympathizing with the Soviet Union. Inmates were forced into grueling manual labor regardless of weather, enduring scorching 40 °C (104 °F) heat or relentless cold. Over 400 prisoners either perished, took their own lives, or succumbed to the brutal conditions.

After its abandonment in 1989, the prison fell into decay. Today, shepherds occupy some of its ruins, while adventurous tourists venture there to seek out the lingering ghosts of its turbulent history.

4 Napier Prison

Perched on Napier Hill in New Zealand, the Napier Prison operated from 1862 to 1993, making it the country’s oldest prison complex. It witnessed four public hangings in the 19th century, a grim reminder of its punitive past.

Restored in 2002, the former penitentiary now serves as a backpacker hostel offering an Escape Room Experience and self‑guided audio tours. Visitors can even spend a night in solitary confinement or a padded cell before exploring the historic hanging yard and adjacent graveyard.

Renowned as one of New Zealand’s most haunted sites, tourists frequently report sightings of mass‑murderer Roland Edwards’s specter, floating disembodied faces, and unexplained footsteps echoing through darkness.

3 West Virginia Penitentiary

The gothic‑style West Virginia Penitentiary, operational from 1876 to 1995, was constructed largely by its own inmates. Prisoners labored in carpentry, painting, stone‑cutting, blacksmithing, bakery, and even a hospital, while the institution also ran its own farm and coal mine, saving the state roughly $14 000 annually.

Initially deemed a model facility, conditions deteriorated into extreme violence. A notorious “Sugar Shack” room became a hub for rape, gambling, and brutal fights. In total, thirty‑six murders occurred within its walls, and in 1983, Charles Manson petitioned—unsuccessfully—to be transferred there to be nearer his family.

Riot and escape attempts plagued its final years. By the time it was abandoned, ninety‑four executions had been carried out, casting an ominous aura over the decaying corridors. Today, guided tours let visitors step inside the cells, and some brave souls even spend the night.

2 Holmesburg Prison

Philadelphia’s Holmesburg Prison, dubbed the “Terrordome,” was decommissioned in 1995. Its notorious reputation stemmed from controversial pharmaceutical, biochemical, and dermatological experiments performed on inmates. In 1938, twenty‑three prisoners launched a hunger strike and were confined to the “Klondike,” an isolation cell that reached scorching temperatures of nearly 93.3 °C (200 °F) due to exposed radiators and steam pipes, resulting in the deaths of four inmates who were essentially boiled alive.

The 1970s saw several violent uprisings; in one episode, roughly one hundred prisoners armed with knives and table legs smashed the dining hall and turned on both guards and fellow inmates. Many now believe that poltergeists haunt the building, with restless spirits allegedly charging at unsuspecting visitors.

1 Garcia Moreno Prison

Over a span of more than 140 years, Ecuador’s Garcia Moreno Prison housed everyone from petty thieves to high‑ranking politicians and former presidents. The facility gained notoriety when a jealous inmate strangled his own wife in front of their two children. In 2014, the overcrowded prison—designed for just 300 inmates but forced to hold 2 600—was finally abandoned, and its residents were transferred elsewhere.

Today, the former penitentiary operates as a tourist attraction, its decaying walls adorned with eerie murals and poignant messages left by former inmates, offering visitors a stark glimpse into the suffering that once unfolded within its cells.

The recent release of Brittney Griner from a Russian penal colony on the morning of December 8, 2022, was hailed by some and criticized by others. The same day, Sarah Krivanek, a U.S. citizen ordered deported by a Russian court due to a domestic dispute, left Russia too. Unlike Griner, though, Krivanek was not a part of a prisoner swap that saw Griner exchanged for Viktor Bout, on whom the 2005 Nicholas Cage film Lord of War is based. Many people are also aware of a third prisoner, Paul Whelan, a former Marine and corporate executive who was convicted of espionage and, as a result, is serving a 16-year sentence.

What many people don’t know is that these three people are a small group of the many other people currently detained in non-U.S. prisons. This article lists just 10 of these individuals, but there are many more.

10 Airan Barry and Luke Denman (Venezuela)

In August 2020, a Venezuelan court sentenced Airan Berry and Luke Denman, two former U.S. Army Special Forces members, to 20 years in prison after the two men attempted to help overthrow President Maduro. The two men were convicted of conspiracy charges, illegal arms trafficking, and terrorism. Both men admitted to participating in Operation Gideon, an unsuccessful attempt to remove Maduro from office. It was part of a plan organized by Silvercorp USA, a private security firm based in Florida. Operation Gideon led to the death of at least eight soldiers and the jailing of another 66 individuals.

Both Berry and Denman were arrested in the fishing village of Chuao. The two men were represented by a public defender after the lawyers hired to represent them were not told about their hearing. The two men were then used by the Venezuelan media to suggest that the United States wanted to overthrow Venezuela’s government. The United States denied any participation in the alleged coup.^[1]

9 Majd Kamalmaz (Syria)

In 2017, Majd Kamalmaz disappeared on a trip to Syria and is believed to have been placed in a Syrian jail. The 63-year-old with diabetes, who is also an American citizen and psychotherapist, arrived in Damascus on February 15, 2017. From this point, Kamalmaz traveled to Syria’s capital after the death of his father-in-law to inquire about elderly relatives. Kamalmaz is believed to have been arrested at a checkpoint on February 16, 2017. Family members have expressed wonderment over why the man was arrested because he is not involved in politics. The family has also worked with the State Department to try to find Kamalmaz and help get him released from prison.

A Czech ambassador later confirmed that Kamalmaz was held because he was seen as a symbol of U.S. interest in Syria after civil war erupted in the country. While the trail has gone cold about Kamalmaz, he is still believed to be alive. Kamalmaz is a humanitarian interested in international disaster relief and worked in Kosovo as well as Indonesia after the tsunami in 2004. In 2012, Kamalmaz became concerned about the growing conflict in Syria and helped various refugees by opening two mental health clinics in Lebanon and Jordan.^[2]

8 David Lin (China)

David Lin is a pastor who has been detained in China since 2006. U.S. efforts to have Lin released finally achieved results in 2022 following a meeting between President Joe Biden and Xi Jinping in Bali. This meeting saw the reduction of Lin’s life imprisonment—lowered to 24 years. This means that Lin will be released from prison in 2030. It remains uncertain if Lin will be able to survive until this date, though. Since 2018, Lin has been in poor health.

David Lin served as an economist who advised California and Iowa state officials. Lin’s wife was a Christian, who persuaded Lin to pursue the religion. In the 1990s, Lin began taking trips to China to promote Christianity and help local churches. Lin later registered as a Christian minister in 1999. In 2006, Lin was stopped by law enforcement and placed under house arrest for having illegal religious propaganda. Months later, Lin was arrested formally.

Lin was charged with “contract fraud” as well for helping Chinese nationals enter into contracts for premises designed for non-authorized church usage. A few years later, Lin received a life imprisonment sentence. Lin later stated that he viewed his imprisonment as a mission from God and a chance to promote religion to his fellow inmates. In 2018, however, Lin sent his loved ones in the United States his bible, his prized possession. Lin later urged his loved ones to request his release because he was in bad health and not receiving adequate care while in jail.^[3]

7 Kai Li (China)

Kai Li, an American citizen, was detained in China in 2017 following an espionage conviction. In the summer of 2016, Li transported his son from their home in New York to Harvard University before traveling to Shanghai. Kai Li, who was born in Shanghai, returned to the city for a ceremony commemorating his mother’s death. When the plane landed, Li was met by security agents. In 2018, Li was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for espionage. The Li family argues that these charges are politically motivated. The case involves state secrets that Li and his lawyer claim are freely available online.

Born in 1962, Li later moved to America to study and then became a U.S. citizen. Li opened two gas stations on Long Island and also acted as a buyer and distributor of solar cell technology for U.S. aerospace firms. During these years, Li visited China several times a year.^[4]

6 Paul Overby (Afghanistan)

Paul E. Overby Jr. is a 79-year-old writer from Massachusetts who was abducted in May 2014 in the eastern Khost province of Afghanistan. At the time he was kidnapping, Overby was headed to interview the head of the Haqqani network, an infamous Taliban network. Before disappearing, Overby suggested that he planned to cross into Pakistan.

Overby was in the country at the time to write a book about the war in Afghanistan. Additionally, Overby is reported to have had health issues that require medical care. In the 1980s, Overby fought beside Afghans against Soviet forces. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has offered a $1 million award for information leading to the return of Overby.^[5]

5 Mark Swidan (China)

In 2012, Mark Swidan was arrested and imprisoned in a Chinese detention center. Swidan was accused of being part of a drug conspiracy while in China for business; he was sentenced to death. Swidan’s mother says he was wrongfully convicted, and she fears she may never see her son again. She has not spoken to him since 2018.

The United Nations Human Rights Council and other human rights organizations have requested Swidan’s release. Despite these requests, Swidan remains in prison. While in prison, Swidan is reported to have little food and to be experiencing deteriorating health; he has reportedly lost about 100 pounds (45 kilograms). Swidan’s mother is heading efforts to get him released and has even started a GoFundMe campaign, so Swidan has money to buy necessaries at the commissary.^[6]

4 Austin Tice (Syria)

Journalist Austin Tice is a 41-year-old man who went missing in Syria in 2012. The last that anyone in the United States heard from Tice was a video released the same year. Tice disappeared in Syria in 2012, at which time he was covering the Syrian civil war. In 2018, Tice’s parents commented that they have new details that lead them to believe Tice is still alive.

In addition to being a journalist who contributed to The Washington Post, McClatchy, and CBS, Tice is also a Marine veteran and an Eagle Scout. Those who have sought details about Tice in recent years have not found any information. President Joe Biden has referred to Tice as a “journalist who put the truth above himself.” Tice’s parents continue to push the administration to secure TIce’s release.^[7]

3 Marc Fogel (Russia)

Marc Fogel is a 61-year-old U.S. citizen and teacher who was arrested after he entered Russia at the Sheremetyevo Airport in 2021 while in possession of medical marijuana. Fogel was carrying less than 20 grams of cannabis at the time of his arrest. The drug was prescribed to Fogel in Pennsylvania for medical purposes.

Fogel has taught history at various high schools in countries like Venezuela, Oman, Colombia, and Malaysia. At the time of his arrest, Fogel was working at the Anglo-American School, which is located in Moscow. The school is an elite private school tasked with teaching the children of international political figures and American diplomats. Fogel also has a history of chronic pain in his spine and was correspondingly prescribed marijuana by his medical doctor.

Fogel was subsequently sentenced to a 14-year prison sentence in a Russian penal colony on the charge of large-scale drug trafficking. Fogel’s sentence was later reduced to nine years. Fogel is reportedly not receiving adequate medical attention while in prison.^[8]

2 Emad Shargi (Iran)

Emad Shargi is an Iranian-American businessman who was arrested in Iran in 2020. Shargi has since been sentenced to a decade of imprisonment as a result of a trial that Shargi did not even attend. Shargi was arrested on espionage charges, which Iran often brings against dual-citizenship holders and foreign nationals. Shargi was first detained in 2018, though. Later released on bail, Shargi was still not allowed to leave the country. He was re-arrested in 2020.

Shargi’s family has expressed worries about his mental state and begged the United States to secure his release. During his time in the infamous Evin prison, Shargi has been allowed to make brief phone calls to his family.^[9]

1 Shahab Dalili (Iran)

Shahab Dalili is a 59-year-old man who was arrested and later imprisoned while in Tehran in 2016 for his father’s funeral. Dalili’s family had recently immigrated to the United States and chose to settle in Virginia at the time Dalili was arrested. Dalili is a legal United States resident with a green card but not a citizen. Dalili has been charged with “aiding and abetting” the United States. For several years following his imprisonment, Dalili’s wife chose not to speak about his arrest out of fear that it might jeopardize his release.

Under the Levinson Act, which was passed in 2020, the United States government must work with both U.S. citizens as well as green card holders who are viewed as “United States nationals.” As a result of this law, the United States has more power to get someone like Dalili out of prison. Further helping matters are two of Dalili’s former cellmates who were released in 2019 and have requested that President Biden not agree to any deal with Iran without securing Dalili’s freedom. One of these men was a United States citizen who was arrested while performing research in Iran as a graduate student at Princeton University.^[10]