Iraq to reopen notorious Abu Ghraib prison

[Liebling:-)))]

Iraq to reopen notorious Abu Ghraib prison

Former torture center will be renovated, receive new name

updated 4:20 p.m. ET Jan. 24, 2009

BAGHDAD - Iraq will reopen the notorious Abu Ghraib prison next month, but it's getting a facelift and a new name, a senior justice official said Saturday.

The heavily fortified compound of gray, stonewalled buildings and watchtowers has come to symbolize American abuse of some prisoners captured in Iraq after photos were released showing U.S. soldiers sexually humiliating inmates at the facility.

The scandal stoked support for the insurgency and was one of the biggest setbacks to the U.S. military effort to win the peace in Iraq.

The renovated facility will be called Baghdad's Central Prison because the name Abu Ghraib has left a "bitter feeling inside Iraqis' hearts," deputy Justice Minister Busho Ibrahim said.

Abu Ghraib, which was a torture center under Saddam Hussein, has been closed since 2006.

The prison will house 3,500 inmates when it reopens in mid-February and will have a capacity for about 15,000 by the end of this year, Ibrahim told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

U.S. military handing over detainees

The announcement comes as the U.S. military has begun handing over about 15,000 detainees in its custody to the Iraqis under a new security agreement, prompting concern about Iraq's beleaguered judicial system. The United Nations warned in a recent human rights report about overcrowding and "grave human rights violations" of detainees in Iraqi custody.

"We have crowded prisons and the opening of Baghdad's Central Prison will help ease the problem," Ibrahim said.

He said the facility will be operated according to international standards.

Last year, the government said it would turn a section of the 280-acre prison into a museum documenting Saddam's crimes but not the abuses committed by U.S. guards.

The photos from Abu Ghraib brought another serious stain to America's reputation after worldwide protests against the March 2003 invasion. They also discredited Washington's claims that it was trying to build a country based on rule of law and respect for human rights on the wreckage of dictatorship.

In all, 11 U.S. soldiers were convicted of breaking military laws and five others were disciplined.

American authorities implemented a series of reforms in the aftermath, although they still faced complaints about prolonged detentions without charges.

Violence has declined dramatically in Iraq but militants continue to stage attacks, with a spate of bombings and assassinations ahead of Jan. 31 provincial elections.

Suicide attacks continue

On Saturday, a suicide car bomber struck an Iraqi police patrol in the former insurgent stronghold of Karmah west of Baghdad, killing four people, including a senior officer, and wounding six others, according to police and hospital officials.

The U.S. military said two people were killed and four wounded.

Karmah, 50 miles west of Baghdad, is in Anbar province where the U.S. has handed over security responsibility to Iraqi forces.

Gunmen also opened fire on a checkpoint south of the capital manned by government-backed Sunni fighters who have joined forces with the Americans against al-Qaida in Iraq. Two of the so-called Sons of Iraq were killed in the attack in Jurf al-Sakr and two others were wounded, according to police and a local Sunni leader.

A roadside bomb targeted a police patrol in a mainly Sunni area of Baghdad, killing one policeman and wounding five other people, authorities said.

The Iraqi officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information.

North of the capital, a suspected insurgent and a woman were killed and a girl was wounded by a gunshot during a U.S.-Iraqi military operation targeting al-Qaida in Iraq near the village of Hawija, the U.S. military said.

Local police and witnesses said those killed were a Saddam-era army officer and his wife, and said their 7-year-old daughter was wounded.

The woman was killed when she was spotted reaching under a mattress and did not show her hands as ordered, according to a U.S. military statement, which added a pistol was later found under the mattress.

Complaints about civilian casualties during military operations have led to fierce criticism of U.S. forces and prompted the Iraqis to insist on stricter oversight under the new security pact that took effect on Jan. 1.

Two U.S. soldiers also died of non-combat causes in separate incidents Saturday in Iraq, the military said. The deaths raised to at least 4,232 members of the U.S. military who have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

Iraq to reopen notorious Abu Ghraib prison - Conflict in Iraq- msnbc.com

Re-open? :scratch:

To my opinion, Abu Ghraib should create into a museum to remember the crimes of Saddam Hussein and US like we did with Nazi holocaust museum here in Germany and USA?

 

[Reba]

To my opinion, Abu Ghraib should create into a museum to remember the crimes of Saddam Hussein and US like we did with Nazi holocaust museum here in Germany and USA?

The story says, "Last year, the government said it would turn a section of the 280-acre prison into a museum documenting Saddam's crimes but not the abuses committed by U.S. guards," so that's they way the Iraqi authorities want it. They have to use the rest of it as a prison because they need the space.

 

[Byrdie714]

The story says, "Last year, the government said it would turn a section of the 280-acre prison into a museum documenting Saddam's crimes but not the abuses committed by U.S. guards," so that's they way the Iraqi authorities want it. They have to use the rest of it as a prison because they need the space.

Isn't that the same thing as omitting part of history?

 

[Liebling:-)))]

The story says, "Last year, the government said it would turn a section of the 280-acre prison into a museum documenting Saddam's crimes but not the abuses committed by U.S. guards," so that's they way the Iraqi authorities want it. They have to use the rest of it as a prison because they need the space.

This is dishonestly... The history should be not hide because the people has the right to know the truth.

 

[Reba]

Isn't that the same thing as omitting part of history?

No. It's well documented and broadcast. However, as far as "history" goes, the American soldier scandal was not long-term, nor authorized, and the people involved were tried and punished.

Finally, the property now belongs to Iraq, so it's up to them to decide how to use it.

 

[Liebling:-)))]

No. It's well documented and broadcast. However, as far as "history" goes, the American soldier scandal was not long-term, nor authorized, and the people involved were tried and punished.

Finally, the property now belongs to Iraq, so it's up to them to decide how to use it.

But it does the same with Hitler and Nazi as well what they did is criminal and scandal.

 

[Reba]

This is dishonestly... The history should be not hide because the people has the right to know the truth.

How is it "hidden?" Everyone at AD knows about it. Everyone with internet access or a TV knows about it. Everyone who can read a newspaper or magazine knows about. How is it "hidden?"

 

[Liebling:-)))]

How is it "hidden?" Everyone at AD knows about it. Everyone with internet access or a TV knows about it. Everyone who can read a newspaper or magazine knows about. How is it "hidden?"

Yes, everyone in around the world knows but I mean is history. The history should stay repeat forever.

 

[Reba]

But it does the same with Hitler and Nazi as well what they did is criminal and scandal.

Can you honestly compare the scale of what happened in Germany with what happened at Abu Ghraib?

The Holocaust in Germany covered several countries over several years, involving millions of people. The perpetrators of the Holocaust were ordered by the highest echelons of national government to commit genocide. Those who ran the camps weren't punished by their leadership--they weren't punished until after the war, by the victors.

Abu Ghraib was awful and unlawful, yes. The perpetrators were punished by the military.

If the Iraqis put up a display of Abu Ghraib that includes Americans, then they should also put up a display that shows all the atrocities that were committed by Iraqis against Americans, including beheadings. More Americans and allied Europeans died at the hands of terrorists than what died at the hands of the soldiers at Abu Ghraib.

 

[Reba]

Yes, everyone in around the world knows but I mean is history. The history should stay repeat forever.

It's recorded all over the place, so it will be a part of history. It's not hidden.

 

[Liebling:-)))]

Updated

New jail opens at Abu Ghraib site

Abu Ghraib, the Iraqi prison which became notorious for detainee abuse by US forces in 2004, is being officially re-opened in a new incarnation.

It has been handed over to the Iraqis and renamed Baghdad Central Prison.

The site has been extensively renovated, with upgraded facilities and amenities, including a hospital, rest rooms and visiting rooms.

Work is continuing on the prison, which will eventually be the city's main jail, holding about 12,000 inmates.

Initially, only one of its four sections will be used.

There are already about 300 prisoners there to test it out and, once the prison has been officially inaugurated, that figure will rise to 3,500.

Torture allegations

Along with the change of name, the Iraqi justice ministry is trying to change both image and reality, billing it as a model prison, open to random inspection by the Red Cross and other humanitarian organisations.


The Americans are still holding more than 14,000 Iraqi detainees in other facilities, in conditions that have been radically revised since the Abu Ghraib scandal.
Under the new status of forces agreement with Iraq, the prisoners are being released at a rate of about 50 a day.

Those against whom there are pending charges will be handed over to the Iraqis as the Americans withdraw.

There is much concern over the conditions in some Iraqi jails, where there is acute overcrowding and allegations of abuse and torture.

American officials say the detainees they hand over are only going to prisons run by the justice ministry and which are up to international standards.

BBC NEWS | Middle East | New jail opens at Abu Ghraib site

You can see the video of renovation Abu Ghraib prison in that link.

 

[Liebling:-)))]

I did not see your post until I updated the article today.

Can you honestly compare the scale of what happened in Germany with what happened at Abu Ghraib?

I do not see anything that I compare them. To my opinion that they should create Abu Ghraib camp as a museum what and how Saddam Hussein and US soliders did to Iraqis like the example we created Nazi camp as holoscaut museums in Germany, that's all.

The Holocaust in Germany covered several countries over several years, involving millions of people. The perpetrators of the Holocaust were ordered by the highest echelons of national government to commit genocide. Those who ran the camps weren't punished by their leadership--they weren't punished until after the war, by the victors.

How many innocent people including children and soliders killed in war since WWII to compare with Nazi time?

Abu Ghraib was awful and unlawful, yes. The perpetrators were punished by the military.

Yes, they deserve their punishment...

If the Iraqis put up a display of Abu Ghraib that includes Americans, then they should also put up a display that shows all the atrocities that were committed by Iraqis against Americans, including beheadings. More Americans and allied Europeans died at the hands of terrorists than what died at the hands of the soldiers at Abu Ghraib.

Well, we all know Middle East culture's law before we (Americans and Europeans) visit their country for holiday or attack their country to make war.

Yes, we would get beheading or whatever if we disobey their law and cultural. It's people's responisble for disobey Islam's law because they know what their law is... Yes, they consider US and EU as a terrorist for attack their country, deserve the punishment accord Iraq's law. We all should have known it.

What and how US atrocities did Iraqis in Abu Ghraib prison is an illegal because there're no US law and rules...