penal colony

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Family Gets 1st Glimpse of Paul Whelan in 3 Years

He reportedly refused to answer RT reporter's questions, leading to retaliation

(Newser) - New video aired Monday by Russian state-controlled media shows Paul Whelan, the former US Marine jailed on unsubstantiated espionage charges in Russia, going about his day in a penal colony. Whelan, wearing a black prison uniform, is seen eating in a cafeteria with other inmates, working on a sewing machine,...

Navalny Sent to 'One of the Toughest' Penal Colonies

Official says dissident has arrived at Melekhovo prison; Navalny camp says it hasn't verified claim

(Newser) - Update: In May, Alexei Navalny had written in a Telegram post that he'd heard inmates at the notorious penal colony in Melekhovo were building a "prison within a prison" for him. He may now be detained in that disturbing-sounding confinement: Per CNN , the head of a regional public...

Last Island Penal Colony in the Americas Is Closing

Mexico's Islas Marias will become a cultural center

(Newser) - Mexico is closing its infamous Isla Marias prison, the last island penal colony in a hemisphere once dotted with remote island jails like the one depicted in the movie Papillon. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday that Mexico will relocate about two-thirds of the 659 remaining inmates and free...

Tale of Convicts' Famed 1791 Escape Revealed

First-hand account of Australian penal colony escape released in full

(Newser) - Exactly 223 years ago, some of the first British convicts sent to Australia made a daring escape from Britain's penal colony in New South Wales. It has become the stuff of legend, but the tale of what happened on a two-month journey of more than 3,000 miles—in...

Aussie PM Gains Cachet From Thieving Ancestors

Preteen convict adorns Rudd's family tree

(Newser) - Australia’s history as a penal colony is no laughing matter, but some Aussies have come to appreciate, and even relish, their hardscrabble beginnings. Case in point: PM Kevin Rudd, whose family tree includes ancestors convicted of stealing sugar (in 1801) and underwear (in 1788). The release of some details...

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