Tora Prison
| Location | Tora, Egypt |
|---|---|
| Status | Operational |
| Security class | Supermax, Maximum Security, General, Light |
| Opened | 1908 |
| Managed by | Ministry of Interior |
Tora Prison (Arabic: سجن طرة Segn Tora; Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [seɡn tˤurˤɑ]) is an Egyptian prison complex for criminal and political detainees, located in Tora, Egypt. The complex is situated in front of the Tora El Balad metro station. The main buildings in the Tora Prison complex are Tora Agricultural Prison, Tora Liman (maximum security), Tora Istiqbal (reception), Tora El Mahkoum and Tora Supermax prison, also known as Scorpion Prison (Arabic: سجن العقرب Segn El ʿAqrab).
Tora Agricultural Prison was established in 1908 by Mustafa el-Nahhas while he was the interior minister, in an effort to ease overcrowding at Abu Zaabal Prison.
Tora prison consists of seven blocks each holding approximately 350 prisoners, and are divided into sections for political prisoners and criminals according to the severity of their crimes. There is a block for police officers and judges imprisoned on bribery charges, and a disciplinary block consisting of seven solitary confinement cells, two meters squared in size and some without light or ventilation. The prison walls are seven metres tall and are monitored by CCTV, the different sections of the prison are also walled off from each other. After three prisoners from the Egyptian Islamic Jihad organization implicated in the Assassination of Anwar Sadat escaped in 1988, 2.5 meters were added to walls. Tora Prison has a small hospital overlooking a garden which is the block where businessmen and members of the Mubarak regime are held for corruption cases, the hospital is next to a football pitch, and a tennis court where the prisoners exercise. The prison has held some of Egypt's most high-profile prisoners. Some cells for long-term inmates are apparently laid out like normal (if cramped) apartments with a kitchenette etc. There have been allegations that the prison was used for torture and Mukhabarat (Egyptian intelligence services) complicity with CIA extraordinary rendition practices under the Mubarak regime. It may in fact have operated in this capacity since 1995/96 (being the most accessible of the few liman), making it one of the first of the infamous "black sites".
...
Wikipedia