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Devil's Island

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Devil's Island

Smallest of the Iles du Salut (Salvation isles), off the northeast coast of French Guiana, 43 km/27 mi northwest of Cayenne. The group of islands was collectively and popularly known by the name Devil's Island and formed a penal colony notorious for its terrible conditions.

Alfred Dreyfus was imprisoned here 1895–99. The convict settlement was built in 1852, originally for prisoners suffering from contagious diseases. Later only political prisoners were held on Devil's Island, and dangerous criminals on St Joseph, where they were subdued by solitary confinement in tiny cells or subterranean cages. The last prisoner was released in 1953, and the island is now a tourist attraction. The largest island, Royale, now has a tracking station for the French rocket site at Kourou. Ile Royale served as an administrative centre of the former penal colony. It is linked to Devil's Island by a 225 m/738 ft-long supply cable.



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? Mentioned in ? References in periodicals archive
 
In July 1906, France's Cour de Cassation (Supreme Court) overturned the treason conviction of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a French Jewish army officer who had spent five years on Devil's Island for high treason and an additional seven years trying to clear his name.
A century ago, Zionism founder Herzl misread the meaning of the ... by Brownfeld, Allan C. / Washington Report on Middle East Affairs
Three escaped convicts from Devil's Island may not be the sort of guardian angels you want dropping in for the Christmas holidays--especially if one of them keeps misplacing his pet viper.
We're No Angels by U.S. Catholic
hominivorax was first found to be infesting people in the penal colony of Devil's Island in French Guiana in 1858.
Myiasis during adventure sports race by Meri, Seppo / Emerging Infectious Diseases
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