Abu Ghraib prison
Encyclopedia
The Baghdad Central Prison, formerly known as Abu Ghraib prison ( ; also Abu Ghurayb, meaning 'father of the raven' or 'Place of Ravens') is in Abu Ghraib
Abu Ghraib
The city of Abu Ghraib in the Baghdad Governorate of Iraq is located just west of Baghdad's city center, or northwest of Baghdad International Airport. It has a population of 189,000. The old road to Jordan passes through Abu Ghraib...

, an Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

i city 32 km (20 mi) west of Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

. It was built by British contractors in the 1950s.

Observers estimated that in 2001, the prison held as many as 15,000 inmates.

In 2002 Saddam
Saddam
–Saddam is an Arabic name which means "One who confronts", other meanings include: "One who frequently causes collisions", "Powerful collider", "One who causes a collision that had bad results", "Powerful confronter", "One who frequently crashes", or "Powerful commander"...

's government began an expansion project to add six new cellblocks to the prison. In October 2002, Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...

 gave amnesty to most prisoners in Iraq. After the prisoners were released and the prison was left empty, it was vandalized and looted. Almost all of the documents relating to prisoners were piled and burnt inside of prison offices and cells, leading to extensive structural damage. After years of shared use by United States-led forces and the Iraqi government beginning in 2003 after the Iraq Invasion, on September 2, 2006 the US transferred the prison to complete control of the Iraqis.

Known mass-graves related to Abu Ghraib

  • Khan Dhari, west of Baghdad - Mass grave with the bodies of political prisoners from Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad. Fifteen victims were executed on 26 December 1998 and buried by prison authorities under the cover of darkness.

  • Al-Zahedi, on the western outskirts of Baghdad - Secret graves near a civilian cemetery contain the remains of nearly 1,000 political prisoners. According to an eyewitness, 10 to 15 bodies arrived at a time from the Abu Ghraib prison and were buried by local civilians. An execution on 10 December 1999 in Abu Ghraib claimed the lives of 101 people in one day. On 9 March 2000, 58 prisoners were killed at a time. The last corpse interred was number 993.

United States-led coalition

Until August 2006, the site known as the Abu Ghraib prison was used for detention purposes by both the U.S.-led coalition occupying Iraq and the Iraqi government. Since then, the Iraqi government has controlled the area of the facility known as "The Hard Site". The prison is used to house only convicted criminals. Suspected criminals, insurgents or those arrested and awaiting trial are held at other facilities, commonly known as
"camps" in U.S. military parlance.

The US houses all its detainees at "Camp Redemption", which is divided into five security levels. This camp built in the summer of 2004 replaced the three-level setup of Camp Ganci, Camp Vigilant and Abu Ghraib's Tier 1. The remainder of the facility was occupied by the United States military. In the recent past, Abu Ghraib served as both a FOB (Forward Operating Base) and a detention facility. When the US was using the Abu Ghraib prison as a detention facility, it housed approximately 7490 prisoners there in March 2004.

The current population of detainees is much smaller, because Camp Redemption has a much smaller capacity than Camp Ganci had. Many detainees have been sent from Abu Ghraib to Camp Bucca
Camp Bucca
Camp Bucca was a detention facility maintained by the United States military in the vicinity of Umm Qasr, Iraq. As of June 2011, a group of entrepreneurial Iraqis and Americans are re-building Camp Bucca as Basra Gateway, a logistics city and environmentally-friendly industrial hub to lead the new...

 for this reason. The US initially holds all "persons of interest" in Camp Redemption. Some are suspected rebels, and some suspected criminals. Those convicted by trial in Iraqi court are transferred to the Iraqi-run Hard Site.

Reserve soldiers from the 320th military police battalion were charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice
Uniform Code of Military Justice
The Uniform Code of Military Justice , is the foundation of military law in the United States. It is was established by the United States Congress in accordance with the authority given by the United States Constitution in Article I, Section 8, which provides that "The Congress shall have Power . ....

 with prisoner abuse, beginning with an Army Criminal Investigation Division investigation on January 14, 2004.

In April 2004, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 television news-magazine 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....

reported on a story from the magazine The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...

, which recounted US-sanctioned torture and humiliation of Iraqi detainees by US soldiers and contracted civilians. The story included photographs' depicting the abuse of prisoners. The events created a substantial political scandal within the US and other coalition countries. (For more information see Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse
Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse
Beginning in 2004, human rights violations in the form of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse, including torture, rape, sodomy, and homicide of prisoners held in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq came to public attention...

.)

On April 20, 2004 insurgents fired forty (40) mortar rounds into the prison. Twenty-two detainees were killed and 92 wounded. Commentators thought the attack was either as an attempt to incite a riot or retribution for detainees' cooperating with the United States.

In May 2004, the US-led coalition embarked on a prisoner-release policy to reduce numbers to fewer than 2000. Despite numerous large releases and transfers to Camp Bucca, this goal has yet to be obtained. There continue to be numerous incoming detainees.

In a May 24, 2004 address at the U.S. Army War College
U.S. Army War College
The United States Army War College is a United States Army school located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500 acre campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks...

 in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, United States President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 announced that the prison would be demolished. On June 14 Iraqi interim President Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer
Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer
Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawar is an Iraqi political figure. He was a Vice President of Iraq under the Iraqi Transitional Government from 2005 to 2006, and was Acting President of Iraq under the Iraqi Interim Government from 2004 to 2005....

 said he opposed this decision, followed by the ruling June 21 by U.S. military judge Col. James Pohl, who said that the prison was a crime scene and could not be demolished until investigations and trials were completed.

On April 2, 2005 the prison was attacked by 60 insurgents
Battle of Abu Ghraib
The Battle of Abu Ghraib refers to an April 2, 2005 attack on United States forces at Abu Ghraib prison, which consisted of heavy mortar and rocket fire, under which armed insurgents attacked with grenades, small arms, and two vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices . The U.S...

. In the two hours before being forced to retreat, the attackers suffered at least 50 casualties. (Both killed and injured; according to the US military.) The attackers used small arms, rockets, and RPG's as weapons, and threw grenades over the walls. A Vehicle Born IED (VBIED) detonated just outside the front wall after Marines fired on it. Officials believe that the car bomb was intended to breach the prison wall, enabling an assault and/or mass escape for detainees. Insurgents also attacked military forces nearby on highways in route to the prison for reinforcement. They used ambushes along the roads. Thirty-six persons at or in the prison, including Marines, soldiers, sailors, civilians and detainees, were injured in the attack. Al Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility for both of the strikes.

During the week ending August 27, 2005, at the request of the Iraqi government, the US released nearly 1,000 detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison. On December 4, 2005, Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...

 reported that John Pace, human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

 chief for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq
United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq is an entity that was formed by the United Nations in Security Council Resolution 1500 on 14 August 2003.-Mandate:...

 (UNAMI), said, "Those held in Abu Ghraib prison were among an estimated 14,000 people imprisoned in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1546
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1546
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1546, adopted unanimously on June 8, 2004, after reaffirming previous resolutions on Iraq, the Council endorsed the formation of the Iraqi Interim Government, welcomed the end of the occupation and determined the status of the multinational force and its...

."

All prisoners in Iraq except those held by the Ministry of Justice are, technically speaking, held against the law because the Ministry of Justice is the only authority that is empowered by [Iraqi] law to detain and hold anybody in prison.

Transfer to Iraqi control

In March 2006 the U.S. military decided to transfer the 4,500 inmates to other prisons and transfer control of the Abu Ghraib prison to Iraqi authorities. The prison was reported emptied of prisoners in August 2006. The formal transfer was made on September 2, 2006. The formal transfer was conducted between Major General Jack Gardner
John D. Gardner (general)
John D. 'Jack' Gardner is a Lieutenant General in the United States Army. He is currently the deputy commander of EUCOM, in StuttgartGermany. Gardner is a native of Columbus, Ohio.-Deputy Commander MNF-I for detainee operations:...

, Commander of Task Force 134, and representatives of the Iraqi Ministry of Justice and the Iraqi army.

In February 2009 Iraq reopened Abu Ghraib under the new name of Baghdad Central Prison . It was designed to house 3,500 inmates. The government said it planned to increase the number up to 15,000 prisoners by the end of the year.

Notable detainees

  • Farzad Bazoft
    Farzad Bazoft
    Farzad Bazoft was an Iranian-born journalist who settled in the United Kingdom in the mid-1970s. He worked as a freelance reporter for The Observer. He was arrested by Iraqi authorities and executed in 1990 after being convicted of spying for Israel while working in Iraq.Bazoft relocated to the...

  • Ahmad Aziz Rafiq
  • Yunis Khatayer Abbas
    Yunis Khatayer Abbas
    Yunis Khatayer Abbas is an Iraqi journalist who is most famous for being the subject of the 2007 documentary The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair....

  • Emad al-Janabi
    Emad al-Janabi
    Emad Khudhayir Shahuth al-Janabi was an Iraqi blacksmith detained in Abu Ghraib prison where he alleges he was abused by American military personnel and defense contractors.- Imprisonment :...

  • Satar Jabar
  • Manadel al-Jamadi
    Manadel al-Jamadi
    Manadel al-Jamadi was an Iraqi prisoner who died in United States custody during interrogation at Abu Ghraib Prison on November 4, 2003. His name became known in 2004 when the Abu Ghraib scandal made news; his corpse packed in ice was the background for widely-reprinted photographs of grinning...

  • Ashraf Abdullah Ahsy
    Ashraf Abdullah Ahsy
    Ashraf Abdullah Ahsy is an Iraqi who was subjected to "extended interrogation techniques" including the use of dogs. Ahsy's story is notable as the Bush administration tried to portray the abuse portrayed in the famous Abu Ghraib prisoner scandal as the unauthorized, after-hours amusement of rogue...


See also

  • Human rights in Saddam's Iraq
    Human rights in Saddam's Iraq
    Iraq under Saddam Hussein had high levels of torture and mass murder.Secret police, torture, murders, rape, abductions, deportations, forced disappearances, assassinations, chemical weapons, and the destruction of wetlands were some of the methods Saddam Hussein used to maintain control...

  • Human rights in post-Saddam Iraq
  • Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse
    Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse
    Beginning in 2004, human rights violations in the form of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse, including torture, rape, sodomy, and homicide of prisoners held in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq came to public attention...

  • Megan Ambuhl
    Megan Ambuhl
    Megan M. Ambuhl is a former United States Army reservist and member of the 372nd Military Police Company who was convicted in court-martial in connection with the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse.-Life and career:Ambuhl was born in Centreville, Virginia...

  • Javal Davis
  • Lynndie England
    Lynndie England
    Lynndie Rana England is a former United States Army reservist who served in the 372nd Military Police Company. She was one of eleven military personnel convicted in 2005 by Army courts-martial in connection with the torture and prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad during the occupation...

  • Ivan Frederick
    Ivan Frederick
    Ivan Frederick II , called Chip Frederick, of Buckingham County, Virginia, is a former Staff Sergeant in the United States Army. He was the highest in rank of the seven U.S. military police personnel who have been charged with torturing prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, all of whom were...

  • Charles Graner
    Charles Graner
    Charles A. Graner, Jr., is a former U.S. Army reservist who was convicted of prisoner abuse in connection with the 2003–2004 Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal...

  • Sabrina Harman
  • Jeremy Sivits
    Jeremy Sivits
    Jeremy C. Sivits is a former U.S. Army reservist, one of several soldiers charged and convicted by the U.S. Army in connection with the 2003-2004 Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal in Baghdad, Iraq during and after the 2003 invasion of Iraq...

  • Antonio Taguba
    Antonio Taguba
    Antonio Mario Taguba , is a retired major general in the United States Army. He was the second American citizen of Philippine birth to be promoted to general officer rank in the Army....

  • Ricardo Sanchez
    Ricardo Sanchez
    Ricardo Sanchez is a retired United States Army Lieutenant General and a candidate for the Democratic Party nomination for the Senate election in 2012 for the seat of retiring Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.-Early life and education:...

  • Thomas Pappas
    Thomas Pappas
    Thomas M. Pappas is a former United States Army colonel and is currently a high level, civilian intelligence officer with the Army's Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Monroe, Virginia. He was the Brigade Commander of the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade in Iraq during the Abu Ghraib prisoner...

  • Samuel Provance
    Samuel Provance
    Samuel Provance was a U.S. Army military intelligence sergeant who disobeyed an order from his commanders in the 302nd Military Intelligence Battalion, by explaining what he experienced at the Abu Ghraib Prison, where he was assigned from September 2003 to February 2004, to the media...

  • Janis Karpinski
    Janis Karpinski
    Janis Leigh Karpinski is a central figure in the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal.Karpinski retired as a colonel in the US Army Reserve. She was demoted from Brigadier General in the aftermath of the Abu Ghraib scandal for dereliction of duty, making a material misrepresentation to...

  • Philippine-American War#American torture and scorched-earth campaigns
  • Battle of Abu Ghraib
    Battle of Abu Ghraib
    The Battle of Abu Ghraib refers to an April 2, 2005 attack on United States forces at Abu Ghraib prison, which consisted of heavy mortar and rocket fire, under which armed insurgents attacked with grenades, small arms, and two vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices . The U.S...

  • The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair
    The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair
    The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair is a documentary film by American documentary filmmaker Michael Tucker.The film depicts Yunis Khatayer Abbas, an Iraqi journalist who was detained by US troops in 2003 and later imprisoned at Abu Ghraib prison for nine months...

    , a documentary about the imprisonment and abuse of one Iraqi journalist, Yunis Khatayer Abbas
    Yunis Khatayer Abbas
    Yunis Khatayer Abbas is an Iraqi journalist who is most famous for being the subject of the 2007 documentary The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair....

    , and his two brothers at Abu Ghraib prison.

External links

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