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Once house of horrors, Iraqi prison has new air

Iraq’s Ministry of Justice allowed reporters rare access on Saturday to the Abu Ghraib prison, which has been partly renovated by the Iraqis and now holds about 400 prisoners after a new influx on Friday.

The Iraqi government has forged ahead in reopening the prison despite the stigma from years of torture and abuse there during Saddam Hussein’s rule and later under American control. The government has said it needs Abu Ghraib, which can hold up to 15,000 prisoners, to ease severe overcrowding at other detention centres. Officials plan to bring the total here up to about 3,000 as a first step.

Officials were eager to highlight a different face of Abu Ghraib, one they emphasised was more focussed on reforming prisoners. The prison’s outer walls were painted in a bright cream colour and Iraqi flags fluttered at the entrance. The driveway to the main gate was spruced up and lined with colourful lampposts, flowers and plants.

Large billboards identified the prison compound by its new name, the Baghdad Central Prison. Jailers were dressed in their finest navy uniforms and hats and made to stand frozen in formation along a red carpet laid down for the occasion. It led into the cellblocks that make up the prison’s so-called hard site.

Inside, the hallways reeked of fresh paint: lavender, cream and light blue. Glittering party decorations hung on the walls and pots of plastic flowers lined the corridors. Slogans in ornate Arabic calligraphy filled the walls. “Respecting the dignity of the internees is one of the noble goals of the Iraqi correctional services,” proclaimed one.

The cellblocks that had once been the scene of prisoner torture, abuse and humiliation by American soldiers and contractors in 2003 and 2004 were newly painted in glossy cream. Freshly painted Arabic numbers identified the individual cells, which were empty except for neatly made bunk beds. Large TV screens were placed in the corridors outside the cells; one was showing a popular cooking program on a government channel.

Posters with the words “No to Torture” above close-up photos of bodies battered with bruises and cuts were hung on the wall. — New York Times News Service

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