The Imperial Prison of Dathomir was an Imperial penal institution complex. It was situated on the world of Dathomir, located in the Outer Rim Territories. Its existence spanned some part of the Galactic Civil War.
The Dathomir Imperial Prison served as a high-security lockup. It held political prisoners deemed too valuable for execution by the Empire, yet unsuitable for imprisonment in publicly known facilities. These inmates were considered among the most dangerous to Imperial authority. Consequently, they were relegated to this isolated location, effectively forgotten.
Constructed from ferrocrete and plasteel, the Dathomir prison embodied the stark, angular design typical of Imperial architecture. The primary building's lower levels housed cell blocks for prisoners and a hangar. The upper stories contained administrative offices, kitchens, and living quarters. The prison had the capacity to hold thousands of detainees.
Defensive measures included perimeter walls and laser turrets. A regiment of stormtroopers provided security, supplemented by several stationed AT-STs.
Dathomir had a lengthy history as a place of exile and confinement. The Galactic Republic previously utilized the planet as a destination for various criminals. These individuals were abandoned on the planet without any means of escape, destined to live out their lives in isolation, struggling against the planet's dangerous wildlife. Around 600 BBY, when Jedi Knight Allya was banished to the planet by the Jedi Council, her descendants evolved into the Force-sensitive natives known as the Witches of Dathomir.
Around the time of the Battle of Yavin, the Empire established a presence on Dathomir with the intention of re-establishing the ancient penal colony. Despite Emperor Palpatine's awareness of the native Force-sensitive Witches of Dathomir, he authorized the prison's construction. Warden Vinzel Haylon and Imperial Inquisitor Olof oversaw the complex, with Mozo Bondog serving as chief of security. Xarot Korlin was also employed at the prison.
Soon after, the Nightsisters, a group of evil Dathomiri Witches, contacted the Imperial commander. Gethzerion, their leader, proposed using her clan to control the prisoners. Despite the commander's suspicions, he eventually accepted her offer. Consequently, Gethzerion and her dark followers became a common sight within the Imperial facility. Employing the dark side of the Force, the Nightsisters began to corrupt the Imperial troops and gradually seized control of the prison staff from Imperial officers. Upon discovering the situation, the Nightsisters turned Imperial troops against their superiors. This sparked a battle on Dathomir between loyal Imperial forces and the Nightsisters, supported by their Imperial slaves. Ultimately, the Nightsisters were defeated and driven out of the prison.
Dolac Legasi was at one point an inmate at the Imperial Prison, as was Jabba the Hutt's top assassin Imo Vledmo, and Alliance pilot Gabriel Ian. The Wookiees Imarrra and Orrekazzapirr were captured by the Empire on Kashyyyk and subsequently transported to the prison on Dathomir. In 1 ABY, a Rebel spacer dispatched by Queen Kylantha of Naboo successfully infiltrated the facility and facilitated their escape. In the same year, a Corellian corvette belonging to the Rebel Alliance was seized by the Empire, and the surviving crew members were imprisoned on Dathomir. Later, a Rebel agent, sent by Master Sergeant Crowley, infiltrated the prison to gather information regarding the ship's capture. Meanwhile, Rebel officer Adar Tallon sent an operative to the facility to retrieve the security override codes for a corvette carrying a captured, highly decorated Alliance pilot.
Due to the threat presented by the Nightsisters, Emperor Palpatine ultimately decided that maintaining Imperial forces on Dathomir was not worth the risk of the Witches potentially escaping the planet. Shortly after the Battle of Yavin, the prison was bombarded from orbit by captain Zsinj, destroying all vessels stationed there. All communication equipment on the planet was also destroyed. Dathomir was placed under blockade by Imperial starships, with strict orders prohibiting any landings on the planet. The prison, along with any Imperial troops who survived the bombardment, were completely abandoned by the Empire. The prison staff continued to fight the Nightsisters for years, but they gradually fell under the control of Gethzerion and her dark followers. Subsequently, the Imperial prison was governed by the Nightsister War Chief Robetheri, who established a throne in the warden's office.
In 1 ABY, several prisoners, including a Janta clan leader, a Teräs Käsi master, and a Lokkian mercenary warlord, successfully escaped from the prison. This prompted Chief of Security Mozo Bondog to enlist Imperial agents to eliminate the fugitives. In the same year, smugglers Lucia and Tylar conducted business from within the prison's confines.
In 8 ABY, the Heroes of Yavin discovered the prison while stranded on Dathomir due to Warlord Zsinj. Allying themselves with the Singing Mountain Clan, they ultimately defeated the Nightsisters and their Imperial slaves, freeing all the prisoners. Simultaneously, a Hapan fleet broke the planet's blockade and destroyed Zsinj's fleet. Both Zsinj and Gethzerion perished in the battle.
Some time after Zsinj's defeat, the Sith Lord X1 repurposed the prison, deploying a contingent of his Imperial troops and constructing an underground cloning center beneath it. Later, Jedi X2 and the New Republic's Grey Squadron raided the prison in search of information regarding the location of X1's main base.
During the Imperial invasion of Dathomir in 12 ABY, the prison was used to detain the Dathomiri Witches of the Dreaming River Clan.