Artillery Heights Detention Centre
Military Administrative Detention Centre, Artillery Heights (Arabic: مركز الاحتجاز الإداري العسكري – جبال المدفعية markaz al-iḥtijāz al-idārī al-ʿaskarī – jibāl al-midfaʿīyah) is a military prison in Nasser City, situated at the foot of Artillery Heights with its main entrance on the intersection of Kaymakam Karam Street and Arsuzi Avenue, kitty corner from the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence, with which it is connected via an underground service tunnel.
First opened in 1990 and reopened in 2005 following significant expansion and a series of major upgrades, Artillery Heights Detention Centre is a Class Zero institution (equivalent to a supermax prison in the United States), with each inmate assigned a separate cell wherein they spend 24 hours a day (23 for stable inmates granted communal privileges). The facility is operated by the Military Police Directorate's Administrative and Joint Security Division. The facility consists of three 10-story panopticon-style housing units, anchored by an equilateral triangle that forms a common ground floor and basement, securely connecting housing units and encompassing storage areas, utility rooms, admin office, CCTV/security office, armoury, vehicular sallyport (mantrap) for loading/unloading prisoner transports, prisoner reception/processing area, visitor center, staff room, kitchen, medical clinic, etc.
The institution serves two main, distinct purposes:
- as a remand (pretrial) centre, where military personnel accused of serious criminal acts—or criminal dereliction of duty, namely battlefield desertion—are held until sentencing by a military tribunal; and,
- secure, long-term and/or indefinite detention of high-profile foreign nationals deemed a significant threat to national security, including alleged terrorists and spies.