Nusa Kambangan

Nusa Kembangan island is located in the Indian Ocean, separated by a narrow strait off the southern coast of Java island; the closest port is Cilacap in Central Java province. Nusa Kambangan well known as the prison to convicted murderers, terrorists, drug dealers and those convicted in high profile corruption cases.

The island was made into a prison island during the Dutct period. The colonial government built a high security prison on the isolated island to exile criminals and political dissidents. The prison on Nusakambangan was opened in the mid-1920s by Indonesia's former Dutch colonial rulers and was once considered the harshest penal institution in South East Asia.

Its usage as a prison island continued after independence. During the rule of former President Suharto, hundreds of political dissidents were imprisoned on the island. Most were political prisoners, members of the banned Communist Party of Indonesia, the party which forbidden at that time.
In 1996, the island was finally opened to the public as a tourist destination.
The island has also been involved in refugee handling. About 140 Afghan refugees were detained on the island after their boat, which was en route to Christmas Island, Australia, sank in rough seas on August 17 2001.


The island was also affected by the July 2006 Java earthquake, when a tsunami triggered by a 7.7-magnitude undersea earthquake off the coast of Java. And at least fifteen inmates on the Nusakambangan prison island near Pangandaran were also missing.



There are nine prisons built in the island, four of which are still used:
Permisan prison, built in 1908,
Batu prison, built in 1925,
Besi prison, built in 1929,
Kembangkuning prison, built in 1950.
There are also five inactive prisons:
Nirbaya prison, built in 1912,
Karanganyar prison, built in 1912,
Karangtengah prison, built in 1928,
Gliger prison, built in 1929,
Limusbuntu prison, built in 1935.


Famous people once imprisoned on the island include:
Pramoedya Ananta Toer, poet and novelist,
Bob Hasan, former Minister of Forestry, convicted of corruption charges,
Imam Samudra, Amrozi, and Ali Gufron, three men convicted of organising the 2002 Bali Boombing . They were executed there by firing squad on November 9, 2008.
Tommy Suharto, son of former president Suharto, convicted of masterminding the murder of the judge who sentenced him for corruption.
Fabianus Tibo, Dominggus da Silva and Marianus Riwu, three men convicted as provocateurs of a deadly riot in Central Sulawesi; they have been executed there.