http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article350357.ece US to close down Abu Ghraib prison
By Andrew Buncombe in Washington
Published: 10 March 2006
Abu Ghraib, the Iraqi prison that became a byword for torture first under Saddam Hussein and later under the American occupation, is to close. Its 4,500 prisoners will be moved to other jails inside Iraq, a US military spokesman said.
The prison on the outskirts of western Baghdad was infamous under Saddam as a place where political prisoners and other inmates were tortured and executed. But after the US took control it gained worldwide notoriety with the emergence of thousands of graphic photographs showing US troops abusing, torturing, and in some cases apparently killing Iraqi prisoners, leaving a permanent black mark on the reputation of America.
"We will transfer operations from Abu Ghraib to the new Camp Cropper once construction is completed there," Lieutenant-Colonel Keir-Kevin Curry, said. "No precise dates have been set, but the plan is to accomplish this within the next two to three months."
The US military said the main reason for the shift of prisoners from Abu Ghraib was security. Abu Ghraib is located on the main road to Jordan, close to both Fallujah and Ramadi and within the Sunni triangle. The area surrounding the prison is considered a stronghold for insurgents. The prison has often come under attack from small-arms fire and mortars. They said the prison had been difficult to support logistically.
Officials also said Camp Cropper would provide better conditions for detainees than the old and sprawling Abu Ghraib complex.
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Just moving people to a better class of torture and inprisonment.
America: #1 in icarceration!
Edited for copyright reasons