Between Buru and Nusakambangan

Buru and Nusakambangan islands are two places that are bound together by a similar history: as locations of incarceration. While Buru has returned to more normal times, Nusakambangan remains unsuitable for visitors, as the government plans to build a maximum security prison for drug felons. What is the current situation on the two islands?

December 11, 2000

Nusakambangan is destined to become a prison isle once more. The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights has decided that the island south of Cilacap, Central Java, will be turned into a special prison to house those convicted of drug offences. Construction will begin in 2001 to turn Nusakambangan into something resembling the infamous Alcatraz in the US.

The future prison on Nusakambangan will cover several categories: maximum, medium and minimum

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