US may pull out of Abu Ghraib prison News
US may pull out of Abu Ghraib prison

[JURIST] A US military spokesman has told the Associated Press that the US may pull its security detainees out of Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison [JURIST Hot Topic news archive] due to the high number of insurgent attacks against the facility. The high-security prison, already notorious during the rule of Saddam Hussein, became additionally infamous in 2003 when evidence emerged of US military personnel abusing Iraqi prisoners held there. At one point President Bush said it would be demolished [JURIST report], but that option was later rejected on legal grounds [JURIST report]. The prison currently houses Iraqi detainees held by the US military and common criminals held by Iraqi law enforcement authorities. The US does not plan to withdraw its prisoners in the immediate future, but the spokesman said it might eventually shift them to a more secure location near Baghdad International Airport, leaving the Iraqis in complete charge of Abu Ghraib. The prison, like most other American detention camps in Iraq, is currently overcrowded; in the wake of many arrests made prior to the January 30 elections, it now holds 3,200 inmates, 700 more than capacity. AP has more.