Fort Suse
Encyclopedia
Fort Suse is the name of an Iraqi military barracks and training facility built in 1977 by Russia
n engineers. Fort Suse is located in Kurdish northern Iraq
in the vicinity of Al-Sulamaniya
.
and Camp Cropper
was part of a plan to alleviate over crowding at existing facilities, close the detention facility at Abu Ghraib
and to eventually transition detention operations to the Iraqi government.
Construction began on August 3, 2005 and the facility received its first 50 detainees on October 24, 2005.
The facility was initially manned by 1st Battalion 504th Parachute Infantry Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division with detainee operations supervised by members of the 82nd Military Police. Facility detainee operations were conducted in conjunction with Kurdish prison guards which obtained extensive training via the 1/504 PIR. In January 2006, 508th Military Police Battalion (Internment/ Resettlement) took control over Theater Internment Facility (TIF) operations. Soldiers from the 508th trained up navy personnel to perform guard force duties and detainee operations. In February 2006, members of the Navy
Provisional Detainee Battalion (NPDB) began detainee operations. 508th Military Police BN (I/R) opened a training program for Kurdish prison guards. Kurdish guards first graduated from the extensive training given by 508th MPs, and later integrated into operating independently on each cell block. 508th MPs maintained control of the TIF operations, while NPDB controlled FOB operations.
On December 12, 2005, Nearly 90 percent of all eligible security detainees in Multi-National Forces-Iraq Theater Internment Facilities, including those at Fort Suse, participated in the democratic vote on the Iraqi National Ballot.
On May 8, 2006, the U.S. Military announced that five security detainees had escaped from Fort Suse, the first escape from that facility. Reports blamed the escape on negligence on the part of Kurdish guards. All five detainees were later recaptured by in a joint operation by Kurdish security forces and peshmerga
militiamen. (Only four detainees were recaptured, the last was suspected to have died while in the Kurdish mountains.)
In August 2006, it was reported that all security detainees from Fort Suse would be transferred to Camp Cropper and Camp Bucca and the facility turned over to the Iraqi government on September 22, 2006.
with a maximum capacity of 1,500 inmates. It received its first inmates on November 19, 2006 and now holds convicted criminals, serving their sentence after being convicted in Iraqi courts.
In October 2007, the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) conducted a visit of Fort Suse, the first visit for that organization of an Iraqi run prison facility.
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Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n engineers. Fort Suse is located in Kurdish northern Iraq
Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Kurdistan Region is an autonomous region of Iraq. It borders Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, Syria to the west and the rest of Iraq to the south. The regional capital is Arbil, known in Kurdish as Hewlêr...
in the vicinity of Al-Sulamaniya
Sulaymaniyah
Sulaymaniyah is a city in Iraqi Kurdistan, Iraq. It is the capital of Sulaymaniyah Governorate. Sulaymaniyah is surrounded by the Azmar Range, Goizja Range and the Qaiwan Range in the north east, Baranan Mountain in the south and the Tasluje Hills in the west. The city has a semi-arid climate with...
.
Use as a detention facility
In 2005, the fort was converted from a once United Nations demining facility to a detention facility capable of holding 1,700–2,000 security detainees at a cost of $8 million dollars. The conversion was done using civilian contractors under the supervision of the 20th Engineer Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division Military Police, and Task Force 134. Task Force 134 is in charge of all Multi-National Force Iraq (MNFI) detention operations in Iraq. Conversion of the fort to a detention facility, coupled with the expansion of existing facilities at Camp BuccaCamp 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...
and Camp Cropper
Camp Cropper
Camp Cropper is a holding facility for security detainees operated by the United States Army near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq. The facility was initially operated as a high-value detention site , but has since been expanded increasing its capacity from 163 to 2,000 detainees...
was part of a plan to alleviate over crowding at existing facilities, close the detention facility at Abu Ghraib
Abu Ghraib prison
The Baghdad Central Prison, formerly known as Abu Ghraib prison is in Abu Ghraib, an Iraqi city 32 km west of Baghdad. It was built by British contractors in the 1950s....
and to eventually transition detention operations to the Iraqi government.
Construction began on August 3, 2005 and the facility received its first 50 detainees on October 24, 2005.
The facility was initially manned by 1st Battalion 504th Parachute Infantry Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division with detainee operations supervised by members of the 82nd Military Police. Facility detainee operations were conducted in conjunction with Kurdish prison guards which obtained extensive training via the 1/504 PIR. In January 2006, 508th Military Police Battalion (Internment/ Resettlement) took control over Theater Internment Facility (TIF) operations. Soldiers from the 508th trained up navy personnel to perform guard force duties and detainee operations. In February 2006, members of the Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
Provisional Detainee Battalion (NPDB) began detainee operations. 508th Military Police BN (I/R) opened a training program for Kurdish prison guards. Kurdish guards first graduated from the extensive training given by 508th MPs, and later integrated into operating independently on each cell block. 508th MPs maintained control of the TIF operations, while NPDB controlled FOB operations.
On December 12, 2005, Nearly 90 percent of all eligible security detainees in Multi-National Forces-Iraq Theater Internment Facilities, including those at Fort Suse, participated in the democratic vote on the Iraqi National Ballot.
On May 8, 2006, the U.S. Military announced that five security detainees had escaped from Fort Suse, the first escape from that facility. Reports blamed the escape on negligence on the part of Kurdish guards. All five detainees were later recaptured by in a joint operation by Kurdish security forces and peshmerga
Peshmerga
Peshmerga or Peshmerge is the term used by Kurds to refer to armed Kurdish fighters. Literally meaning "those who face death" the Peshmerga forces of Kurdistan have been in existence since the advent of the Kurdish independence movement in the early 1920s, following the collapse of the Ottoman...
militiamen. (Only four detainees were recaptured, the last was suspected to have died while in the Kurdish mountains.)
In August 2006, it was reported that all security detainees from Fort Suse would be transferred to Camp Cropper and Camp Bucca and the facility turned over to the Iraqi government on September 22, 2006.
Iraqi run prison
After its handover in September 2006, Fort Suse became an Iraqi run prisonPrison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
with a maximum capacity of 1,500 inmates. It received its first inmates on November 19, 2006 and now holds convicted criminals, serving their sentence after being convicted in Iraqi courts.
In October 2007, the International Committee of the Red Cross
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...
(ICRC) conducted a visit of Fort Suse, the first visit for that organization of an Iraqi run prison facility.
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