Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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February 21, 2009

Iraq Reopens Abu Ghraib Prison
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=2270C03:A6F02AD83191E160319B78490D23BFF630EB2FA2E66CBB22&
 
Now called Baghdad Central Prison, it is home to about 400 inmates,
although officials say it will eventually house up to about 14,000
inmates 
      A cell is seen at a renovated Abu Ghraib prison, now renamed
'Baghdad Central Prison' in Baghdad, Iraq, 21 Feb 2009

 Iraqi officials have reopened Abu Ghraib, one of the country's most
notorious prisons, after renovating the facility just west of Baghdad
and promising more humane treatment of prisoners. Now called the Baghdad
Central Prison, it is home to about 400 inmates, although officials say
it will eventually house up to about 14,000 inmates. Abu Ghraib first
gained notoriety during the regime of Saddam Hussein, when the prison
was used as a site for torture and mass executions. It made news again
in 2004, when the world learned of abuses committed there by U.S. prison
guards. A U.S. Army investigation detailed abuses that led to one death
and included alleged rape, sodomy, beatings and what was described as a
sadistic "game" in which dog handlers terrorized prisoners. Iraqi
officials say the renovated prison has modern facilities that include
computer chatrooms. The Iraqi government has said part of the prison
complex will be a museum, documenting crimes committed by the regime of
former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Also Saturday, the U.S. military
said an American soldier died while on combat patrol near Baghdad.

 Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.


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