Azkaban escapes

Despite generally being considered impregnable, Azkaban Prison has seen at least four escapes, two of them mass-breakouts aided by Dementors.

1982
The 1982 Azkaban escape occurred shortly after Bellatrix Lestrange, Barty Crouch Jr, Rodolphus Lestrange, and Rabastan Lestrange were sentenced for the torture of the Aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom. At the trial, Bartemius Crouch Sr, Barty’s father, was one the judges. Barty begged his father to set him free, but Crouch Sr. felt betrayed by his son and thought he deserved to be punished and imprisoned. He gave his son a life term in Azkaban.

However, Barty’s mother, already dying at the time, persuaded her husband to use Polyjuice Potion to switch her for their son, undetected by Dementors. Mrs. Crouch, disguised as Barty, died a few days later and was buried outside the fortress.



1993
"He's at Hogwarts."

- Sirius Black muttering in his sleep

In 1993, Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban after seeing Scabbers in the Daily Prophet article in July 1993, recognizing him as his traitorous former friend Peter Pettigrew. By August 1, he had escaped though the bars of his cells as his dog Animagus form and swam across the North Sea.

1996
"We have confirmed that ten high-security prisoners, in the early hours of yesterday evening, did escape. And of course, the Muggle Prime Minister has been alerted to the danger. We strongly suspect that the breakout was engineered by a man with personal experience in escaping from Azkaban; notorious mass murderer Sirius Black, cousin of the escapee Bellatrix Lestrange."

- Cornelius Fudge interview to the Daily Prophet about the Azkaban mass breakout



In January 1996, a mass breakout from Azkaban set ten long-imprisoned Death Eaters loose. Voldemort had little trouble arranging this, as many of the Dementors were happy to oblige his dark whims. The Daily Prophet, probably with encouragement from the Ministry of Magic, reported that the escaped criminal Sirius Black must be responsible for the incident. Most of the escapees, as well as a few other Death Eaters, would be returned to prison after the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.

Known Escapees

 * Bellatrix Lestrange
 * Rodolphus Lestrange
 * Rabastan Lestrange
 * Antonin Dolohov
 * Mulciber
 * Travers
 * Augustus Rookwood

1997
"Scrimgeour doesn’t want to admit that You-Know-Who is as powerful as he is, nor that Azkaban’s seen a mass breakout."

- Arthur Weasley to Harry Potter shortly after the flight from Little Whinging

Some time before August of 1997, there was another mass breakout of Death Eaters from Azkaban, including all the escapees from the 1996 breakout who were re-imprisoned after the Ministry break-in as well as others who had been imprisoned since. It was not reported to the public by the Ministry of Magic.



Known Escapees

 * Lucius Malfoy
 * Rodolphus Lestrange
 * Rabastan Lestrange
 * Antonin Dolohov
 * Nott
 * Mulciber
 * Crabbe
 * Augustus Rookwood
 * Jugson
 * Avery Jr.
 * Walden Macnair
 * Travers
 * Stan Shunpike