The Barberousse Prison was constructed during the period of French rule, being built on the site of a former Turkish fortification located above the Casbah of Algiers.

During the Algerian War of 1954-62 several hundred FLN activists and fighters were imprisoned there and 58 were executed by guillotine in the main courtyard.

Equally, Algerians who committed crimes or perpetrated rebellious acts against colonization were sometimes deported to other countries to serve their sentences as they were seen as negative influences on the population.

The architecture of these buildings were characteristic of the Ottoman period with rooms arranged around a central patio.

Prisons built during the colonial period were constructed in the penal architectural style.

Some of the prisons built are: Bilda (1936,) Ténès (1845,) Tazoult (1852,) Berouaghia (1857) and el Harrach (1910.)

Dar Serkadji el kedima was a prison for Turkish soldiers during the Ottoman period.

As the actual floor plans for this extension were not discovered, these additions are essentially a hypothesis made by historians based on other documentation.

It developed and was altered in accordance with the evolution of French and European architecture (due to colonization.)

The catalyst to the mutiny was the alleged attempted escape of 4 prisoners aided by a guard.

On the morning of 21 February, a small group attempted to escape, having been given 4 guns and 3 grenades by a recently appointed prison guard, Hamid Mebarki.

According to the prisoners who left their cells, the original escapees were wearing masks, making them unidentifiable.

Prisoners demanded they be protected and not punished if they had no involvement in the uprising and the killing of the guards, however the administration rejected this request and terminated the negotiations.

Some human rights groups cited claims that the government had executed prisoners after resistance stopped without due process and shot the wounded.

After the failed breakout, security forces killed ninety-six prisoners (according to official figures; other sources claimed up to 110) while trying to suppress the resulting mutiny.

Much controversy exists surrounding the exact circumstances under which the deaths of the guards and the prisoners occurred.

This group allegedly killed detainees and threatened to hurt them if they agreed to surrender to the administration.

Equally, they claim that security forces targeted specific individuals to kill and deliberately shot detainees as they fled down corridors and through courtyards.

Prisoners also claimed that names were called out on a list and those that stepped forward were quickly shot.

This report outlines that the security forces chose not to use tear gas as they did not want to cause asphyxiation among the prisoners who were in enclosed spaces.

Amnesty International cited the part of the report where the ONDH claimed they had taken pictures of each body, taken their fingerprints and wrote a description of their injuries before burying them.

Amnesty International has continuously encouraged the Algerian government to carry out a detailed investigation and to publish the names of the dead.

An inquiry into the incident was conducted in March by an official human rights organization, the Observatoire National des Droits de l'Homme, which supported the Minister of Justice's account.

Three Moroccans belonging to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb were arrested in early June 2008, and transferred to Serkadji prison to await trial.

Algerian security forces arrested the Salafists after they were successful in penetrating the western borders of Algeria.

The three attested to carrying arms against the United States and advocating the overthrow of the pro U.S. monarchy in Morocco.