Korydallos Prison
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Korydallos Prison Complex is Greece's largest jail and contains the country's main maximum-security prison (Type B), housing both maximum-security men and women. It is located in
Korydallos Korydallos ( el, Κορυδαλλός; Latin: ''Corydallus'') is a municipality in the Piraeus regional unit, Greece. It is a suburb of Piraeus. Geography Korydallos is situated southeast of the mountain Aegaleo. It is located 7 km west of c ...
,
Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saron ...
. Famous detainees include members of the anarchist
urban guerrilla An urban guerrilla is someone who fights a government using unconventional warfare or domestic terrorism in an urban environment. Theory and history The urban guerrilla phenomenon is essentially one of industrialised society, resting both ...
organizations
Revolutionary Organization 17 November Revolutionary Organization 17 November ( el, Επαναστατική Οργάνωση 17 Νοέμβρη, ''Epanastatiki Organosi dekaefta Noemvri''), also known as 17N or the 17 November Group, was a Greek far-left Marxist–Leninist urban ...
, Revolutionary Struggle and
Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei The Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei ( el, Συνωμοσία Πυρήνων της Φωτιάς, Synomosía Pyrínon tis Fotiás, abbrev. SPF), also translated as Conspiracy of Fire Cells or Conspiracy of Cells of Fire, is an anarchist urban guerrill ...
. Korydallos prison was also used as the place for the
Greek junta trials The Greek junta trials ( el, Οι Δίκες της Χούντας translated as: The Τrials of the Junta) were the trials involving members of the military junta that ruled Greece from 21 April 1967 to 23 July 1974. These trials involved the ins ...
in 1975, and contains a special court in its basement. Nikolaos Dertilis was the last remaining junta member in jail. He died 28 January 2013 at the age of 94.


Conditions of detention

Amnesty International and other human rights bodies such as the
Committee for the Prevention of Torture The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment or shortly Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) is the anti-torture committee of the Council of Europe. Founded to enforce the Europ ...
have repeatedly expressed concern about the prison for its overcrowding and inhumane treatment of detainees. In 2007, a special committee composed of physicians of the Division of Health Inspections of the Prefecture of Piraeus and Piraeus Medical Association has reported that the hospital and the mental clinic of the prison operate without even the minimum conditions of hygiene, with aging infrastructure and big shortages in medical and nursing staff. The Hellenic Parliament has vowed to improve conditions. Since May 2008 the women prisoners section has been transferred to Thiva prison complex following many years of protests and complaints to the government by the Korydallos municipality and inhabitants. As of only one of the three women prison section hosts women under trial. Demolition works have commenced, for the two out of the three sections, in January 2010 and although they were expected to be completed till the end of June 2010, leaving free space of to be used as a park, the demolition was completed about 7 years after, in March 2017.


Prisoner actions

In November 1995, there was a massive riot, with inmates taking control of the prison for several days in a "battle" with prison guards and police. Earlier in 1990, the inmates of Korydalos took over the entire complex for 28 days. The seizure of the complex was related to prison conditions and criminal justice reform. After the 28 day standoff, Justice officials bent to a majority of the demands the prisoners made and concessions were given in favor of the inmates. There have been several politically motivated attacks in relation to Korydallos prison, including; On 13 May 2010, a bomb exploded outside the prison injuring a member of the public. Police suspected Revolutionary Struggle. In 2013, a bomb containing 1 kg of dynamite was left under the car of the governor of Korydallos Prison outside his home in Dafni, Athens. The attack was claimed by the
Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei The Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei ( el, Συνωμοσία Πυρήνων της Φωτιάς, Synomosía Pyrínon tis Fotiás, abbrev. SPF), also translated as Conspiracy of Fire Cells or Conspiracy of Cells of Fire, is an anarchist urban guerrill ...
as "a show of solidarity for our 10 imprisoned brothers". And in 2016, a bomb exploded next to a prison officer's car at his home. The attack was reported as an attempt of intimidation. In February 2008 a group of political inmates held a sit-down protest against the transfer of an anarchist prisoner to another prison. Among the protesters was N17 prisoner Dimitris Koufontinas. In January 2021 Dimitris Koufontinas, then 63 year old prisoner convicted of crimes as part of November 17 Organization performed a 66 day hunger strike with the goal of being sent to Korydallos prison. Street demonstrations were held in multiple cities across Greece as well as attacks against property has been claimed in support of Koufontinas, Koufontinas ended the
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
after 66 days without his demands having been met.


Notable Inmates and Escapes

Inmate Vasilis Paleokostas, known popularly as the 'Greek Robin Hood' drew attention to the prison when he escaped with a rented helicopter, twice in June 2006 and February 2009. In January 2014 Christodoulos Xiros of 17 November Organization whilst serving multiple life sentences escaped after being granted temporary leave to see his family in the north of the country only to not return. Xiros was captured a year later allegedly preparing further guerrilla actions including aiding other prisoners in escape. Nikolaos Maziotis, the reported leader of the
urban guerrilla An urban guerrilla is someone who fights a government using unconventional warfare or domestic terrorism in an urban environment. Theory and history The urban guerrilla phenomenon is essentially one of industrialised society, resting both ...
organization, Revolutionary Struggle disappeared in April 2014 during his trial at Korydallos prison. Maziotis was captured in July 2014 after a shootout with police in
Central Athens Central Athens ( el, Κεντρικός Τομέας Αθηνών) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Attica. The regional unit covers the central part of the agglomeration of Greater Athens. Administration As a ...
during a robbery, leaving himself and two others including one police officer injured. In 2016 Maziotis again attempted escape when romantic partner and comrade in Revolutionary Struggle, Pola Roupa, unsuccessfully attempted to help Maziotis along with other political prisoners escape via a hijacked helicopter. Human rights activist
Sarah Mardini Sarah Mardini ( ar, سارة مارديني; born 1995) is a Syrian former competition swimmer, lifeguard and human rights activist. Fleeing her country in 2015 during the Syrian civil war with her sister, Olympic swimmer Yusra Mardini, they pul ...
was incarcerated at Korydallos during 106 days in pre-trail detention, after being arrested for various crimes in 2018.


References

{{Authority control Prisons in Greece Piraeus (regional unit) Buildings and structures in Attica