Belmarsh (HM Prison)

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HM Prison Belmarsh is a high security prison in Thamesmead in south-east London. Operational since 2 April 1991, the facility can hold 915 inmates.

It is often used for the detainment of prisoners for terrorist related offences. In September 2006 the number of such prisoners was 51.^[1] Between 2001 and 2004 the prison was used to detain a number of people indefinitely without trial under the provisions of the Part 4 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001.

The governor of Belmarsh Prison is Claudia Sturt.

It was built on part of the East site of the former Royal Arsenal, Woolwich. It is adjacent/adjoined to Woolwich Crown Court, which is therefore used for high profile cases (including those concerning national security).

1 Notable detainees
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Notable detainees

Jeffrey Archer - 2001 - Archer wrote about his stay in Belmarsh in the first volume of A Prison Diary.
Lotfi Raissi - 2001
Abu Hamza al-Masri - 2004 - On 7 February 2006 Hamza was found guilty of 11 of the 15 charges he faced. He was sentenced to seven years to run concurrently for eight counts and 21 months for the others. He has already been in jail since May 2004.
Manfo Kwaku Asiedu - 2005 - ongoing
Ronnie Biggs
Dave Courtney
Jonathan King
Dhiren Barot