Aleti Imperial Penitentiary

Aleti Imperial Penitentiary, Administrative Maximum Security Facility is an Adwan national prison found in an area of unincorporated territory, specifically on the island of Aleti off Adwa’s northeast coast. It is operated by the National Bureau of Prisons and Corrections, a division of the Ministry of Justice. Aleti Penitentiary was opened in 1575 AC, and is classified is a maximum security prison, providing a higher level of custody than any other level of prison within the country. The prison itself forms part of the Aleti Imperial Correction Complex, which is situated on the island of Aleti situated on 20 hectares of land and houses different facilities with varying degrees of security.

Aleti Penitentiary was commissioned due to a need for a unit designed specially for the secure housing of those prisoners most capable of violence toward staff or other inmates. As of 1610, there are 635 prisoners. They are confined 23 hours per day in single cells with facilities made of poured concrete to deter self-harm, and 24-hour supervision carried out intensively with high inmate-staff ratios. Phones are banned, with only limited broadcast entertainment permitted. After three years in maximum confinement, some prisoners may be transferred to a less restrictive prison, often as part of deals made with the government. The aim has been described as, “encouraging reasonably peaceful behavior” from the most violent career prisoners in the country.

Function
The institution is unofficially known as Fort Aleti. It is part of the Aleti Imperial Correction Complex, a division of the National Bureau of Prisons and Corrections. The complex also includes an adjacent minimum security camp that, as of 1609, houses more prisoners than the maximum security unit. Aleti Penitentiary houses males inmates in the national prison system who are deemed the most dangerous and in need for the tightest control, including prisoners whose escape would pose a serious threat to national security. Women in the National Bureau of Prisons and Corrections system who are classified as “special management concerns” due to violence or escape attempts are confined in the administrative unit of Washa Medical Center in southeastern Adwa.

History
In 1553, two members of the Besaki Social Republican Front fatally stabbed two correctional officers in the Tisimi National Penitentiary. The stabbings took place only a few hours apart, and were blamed on inadequate prison design. The National Bureau of Prisons and Corrections director Atsegaye Mekoben argued for the creation of a new type of facility where the most dangerous, uncontrollable inmates could be housed in isolation from correction officers and and other prisoners for security and safety. Under his guidance, Tisimi was operated in “perpetual lockdown” for the next two decades, becoming a model for the design for the Aleti Penitentiary as a control unit prison. Mekoben said that such a prison would hold criminals desperate enough to murder corrections officers or other inmates in the hopes of being sentenced to death. He argued that as harsh as these measures were, they were the only way to deal with inmates who had, “absolutely no concern for human life.”

Aleti Penitentiary opened in 1575 AC. At opening, inmates were housed in fairly open air quarters on the inland, but restrictions increased after a riot in 1581 that resulted in a bloody massacre. Inmates were confined 23 hours a day in solitary confinement, and spent 30 minutes a day with a small group of seven to ten inmates, although this would be further restricted as well. Ill-treatment of inmates occurred on a daily basis, causing major psychological impairment in many. Throughout the 1580s and 90s, Adwa faced major challenges with gang and terrorist organization structures within its prisons. The Asira Sisdiyenwai (16th Street) gang gained notoriety in the prison system, and often recruited new members within prisons. Riots were a common occurrence, and gang culture continued to grow uncontrollably, leading authorities to pass controversies laws that prompted a culture in prisons founded in disciplinary punishment.

Inmate population
The maximum security unit at Aleti Penitentiary houses 635 male inmates, each assigned to one of eight security levels. It is designed for 790 inmates, but has never been at full capacity. The facility is best known for housing inmates who have been deemed too dangerous, like the legendary gang leader Ayele Sisay, too high-profile, or too great a security risk for a regular high security prison. For example, Kalu Amir was sentenced to life in prison for plotting the murder of a judge and national prosecutor who helped sentence him to 25 years in prison for masterminding a counterfeiting operation. After he was found to have plotted while in prison to have an undercover agent murdered who had taken part in the investigation, Amir was transferred to Aleti. The majority of current inmates, however, have been placed there because each has an extensive history in other prisons committing violent crimes including murder, against corrections officers and fellow inmates.

These inmates are kept in administrative segregation, confined in a single-person cell for 23 hours a day and are removed under restraint (handcuffed, shackled, or both); their one hour out of their cell may occur at any time of day or night, and mainly serves as time for exercise and a phone call if they have earned that privilege. Their diet is restricted to ensure that the food cannot be used to harm themselves or to create unhygienic conditions in their cell. Some cells have showers which further reduce the amount of handling of inmates that correctional officers must perform. After at least one year, depending on their conduct, inmates can be gradually allowed out for longer periods. The long term goal is to encourage good behavior in inmates and have something to take away if they behave badly.

Prison facilities
Aleti Penitentiary is a 15 ha complex 21 km km off of the northeastern coast of mainland Adwa. It is part of the Aleti Imperial Correction Complex, which consists of three correctional facilities, each with a different security rating. The majority of the facility is above ground, with the exception of a subterranean corridor which links cell blocks to the lobby. Each cell has a desk, stool and bed, which are almost entirely made out of poured concentrate, as well as a toilet that shuts off it blocked, a shower that runs on timer to prevent flooding, and a sink lacking a potentially dangerous tap. Rooms may also be fitted with polished steel mirrors bolted to the wall, an electric light that can be shut off only remotely, and a radio that can be taken away or given depending on behavioral circumstances.

The 100 mm by 1.2 m windows are designed to prevent inmates from knowing their specific location within the complex. They can see only the sky and roof through them, so it is virtually impossible to plan an escape. Inmates exercise in a concrete pit resembling an empty swimming pool, also designed to prevent them from knowing their location in the facility. The pit is large enough only for a prisoner to walk 10 steps in a straight line or 31 in a circle. Correctional officers generally deliver food to the cells. Inmates transferred to Aleti from other prisons can potentially be allowed to eat in a shared dining room. The prison as a whole contains a multitude of motion detectors and cameras, and 1,400 remote controlled steel doors. Officers in the prison’s control center monitor inmates 24 hours a day and can activate a panic button, which closes every door in the facility, should an escape attempt be suspected. Razor wire fences 4 meters tall surround the perimeter, which is patrolled by heavily armed officers. The National Bureau of Prisons and Corrections allowed international observers to take a guided tour of Aleti Penitentiary in 1597. Attending observers remarked on “an astounding and eerie quiet” within the prison, as well as a sense of safety due to the rigorous security measures.