Korydallos Prison
Korydallos Prison Complex is the main prison of Greece,[citation needed] housing both maximum-security men and women. It is located in Korydallos, Piraeus. Its most famous detainees are the November 17 terrorist members and Colonel Nikolaos Dertilis, the last surviving member of the military junta. Korydallos prison was also used as the place for the Greek junta trials in 1975. 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.[1]
Korydallos Prison attracted attention after inmate Vasilis Paleokostas escaped with a rented helicopter, twice (June 2006 and February 2009).[2]
[edit] Conditions of detention
Amnesty International and other human rights bodies such as the Committee for the Prevention of Torture have repeatedly expressed concern about the prison for its overcrowding and inhumane treatment of detainees. [3][4] 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.[5] The Hellenic Parliament has vowed to improve conditions[citation needed]. 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. Nowadays only one of the three women prison section hosts women under trial. Demolition works have commenced, for the two out of the three sections, on January 2010 and will be completed at the end of June 2010 leaving free space of 10 acres (40,000 m2) to be used as a park.
[edit] Notable inmates of Korydallos-past and present
| Name | Details |
|---|---|
| Vassilis Palaiokostas | Bank robber and kidnapper; Convicted for the kidnapping of businessman Aléxandros Haitoglou and several bank robberies; escaped from Korydallos on 2006 with Alket Rizaj; re-captured on August 2008; escaped a second time on February 2009; currently at large. |
| Alket Rizaj | Albanian robber, drug smuggler and alleged contract killer; Convicted for murder; escaped from Korydallos on 2006 with Vassilis Paleokostas; re-captured on August 2008; escaped a second time on February 2009; re-captured on November 2009 |
| Peter Sedhom | American criminal; convicted for drug-related offence and for the murder of a witness in a narcotics investigation; wanted in the United States for two more murders; escaped on May 2002; died from a drug overdose in Venezuela on June 2008. |
| Níkos Palaiokostas | Bank robber and kidnapper; escaped on 1990; re-captured on September 2006; convicted for 16 bank robberies |
| Kostas Passaris | Armed robber and murderer; convicted for a string of armed robberies and assaults; escaped on February 2001 while being transferred to hospital, killing two policemen in the process; arrested on November 2001 in Bucharest and currently jailed in Romania. |
| Dimitrios Ioannidis | Military officer and one of the leading figure in the Greek military junta of 1967-1974. Convicted for high treason, rebellion and being an accessory to the manslaughters perpetrated during the Athens Polytechnic uprising. Died on August 2010. |
| George Papadopoulos | Military officer and leader of the Greek military junta of 1967-1974. Convicted for high treason, mutiny, torture and other crimes. Died on June 1999. |
| Stylianos Pattakos | Military officer and one of the leading figure in the Greek military junta of 1967–1974. Convicted for high treason and rebellion. Released in September 1990 due to "irreparable damage to his health". |
| Alexandros Giotopoulos | Leader of the marxist terrorist group November 17. Convicted for being the instigator of 19 murders, robberies, bombings and involvement in November 17. |
| Dimitris Koufodinas | One of the leader figure of the marxist terrorist group November 17. Convicted for 11 murders, robberies, bombings and involvement in November 17. |
| Panagiotis Frantzis | Imprisoned for having strangled his wife to death and then having dismembered her body. |
| Kostas Chirvantidis | Gangster, armed robber and murderer. Currently jailed in Corfu. |
| Vassilis Stefanakos | Mobster involved in protection racket, oil and tobacco smuggling and murder. Currently detained in Larissa prison. |
| Panagiotis Vlastos | Mobster convicted for being the mastermind of the kidnapping of Greek businessman Periklís Panagópoulos, as well as several murders and bombings. Originally detained in Trikala prison for two murders, extorsion and other offences. |
| Sorin Matei | Greek-Romanian robber. On September 1998, he hold a family hostage in the Athens apartment, injuring 12 people and killing one hostage when the grenade exploded. He died in Korydallos Prison Hospital after choking on his own vomit, on September 26, 1998. |
| Epaminondas Korkoneas | Special Guard convicted for the murder of Aléxandros Grigorópoulos. Transferred on February 2010 to the psychiatric wing of Korydallos after he began showing signs of mental illness. |
| Konstantinos Voidonikolas | Businessman and nightclub owner. Said to be involved in the heist of about 25 million euros from Eurobank Ergasia in 1994. Allegedly involved in the theft of 99 treasury bonds (worth about three million euros) from the Greek National Bank. Convicted in 1999 after he shot and wounded four construction workers. He escaped on January 2000. Currently living in Canada. |
[edit] References
- ^ Μακεδονία, 19 Νοεμβρίου 1995 (in Greek)
- ^ "Prison break repeat shocks Greece". BBC. 2009-02-22. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7904624.stm.
- ^ "Amnesty International Report". Amnety International. 2008-01-01. http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/EUR01/001/2008/en/297fabc1-78fb-11dd-8e5e-43ea85d15a69/eur010012008en.pdf.
- ^ "Greece: Conditions of Detention in 2001". International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights. 2002-03-19. http://www.ihf-hr.org/documents/doc_summary.php?sec_id=58&d_id=377.
- ^ "Τριτοκοσμικές οι συνθήκες στις Φυλακές Κορυδαλλού" (in Greek). Prefecture of Piraeus. nomarhiapeiraia.gr. 2007-05-16. http://www.nomarhiapeiraia.gr/Templates/deltia_tipou/2007/maios/16-05-2007/16-05-2007b.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-12.[dead link]
Coordinates: 37°58′56″N 23°38′50″E / 37.98222°N 23.64722°E
 |
This article about a Greek building or structure is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 |
This prison-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
