Simple English definitions for legal terms
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A penal colony is a faraway place where people who have broken the law or opposed the government are sent to be punished. These colonies are usually located in a remote part of a country or in a place that belongs to the country but is far away from it. Some examples of penal colonies from history include the Soviet Union's gulags in Siberia and France's Devil's Island off the coast of Guiana.
A penal colony is a place where convicts and political prisoners are detained, usually in a remote and isolated location within a country or its extraterritorial holdings.
Historical examples of penal colonies include:
These examples illustrate how penal colonies were often used as a means of punishment and isolation for those deemed a threat to the government or society. The harsh conditions and remote locations made escape difficult, and prisoners were often subjected to forced labor and other forms of mistreatment.