Abu Ghraib prison

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The Abu Ghraib prison (also Abu Ghurayb) is in Abu Ghraib, an Iraqi city 32 km west of Baghdad. It became internationally known as a place where Saddam Hussein's government tortured and executed dissidents, and later as the site of torture and abuse of Iraqi suspects by the United States military that was publicised in a series of photographs published in American news media.

Related Topics:
Abu Ghraib - Iraq - Baghdad - Saddam Hussein - Torture - Dissidents - Torture and abuse of Iraqi suspects - United States

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Under Hussein's Ba'ath government, it was known as Abu Ghraib Prison and had a reputation as a place of torture. It was sometimes referred to in the Western media as "Saddam's Torture Central". The prison was renamed after United States forces expelled the former Iraqi government, which had called it the Baghdad Central Confinement Facility (BCCF) or Baghdad Central Correctional Facility. In May of 2004, Camp Avalanche, a tent camp on the grounds of Abu Ghraib for security detainees, changed its name to Camp Redemption at the request of a governing council member.

Related Topics:
Ba'ath - Torture - 2004

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The prison complex was built by British contractors in the 1960s, and covered 280 acres (1.15 km²) with a total of 24 guard towers. The size of a small town, the area was divided into five separate walled compounds for different types of prisoners. Each block contained a dining room, prayer room, exercise area and rudimentary washing facilities. Cells contained up to 40 people in a space four metres by four. By the fall of the government in 2003 the five compounds were designated for foreign prisoners, long sentences, short sentences, capital crimes and "special" crimes.

Related Topics:
Prison - 1960s - 2003

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