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| Iraq |
| US sets up new Iraqi prison system |
| 2006-02-08 |
| The United States, which came under fire for abusing detainees in Iraq, has spent millions of dollars creating a new prison system there as part of a program to revamp the criminal justice system from top to bottom. A Bush administration official, who asked not to be named, said around 70 U.S. "correctional experts" including prison wardens, managers and instructors, had been involved in getting the new Iraqi Correctional Service up and running. The U.S. experts established a training academy for Iraqi guards and administrators near Baghdad in December 2004, and the first class graduated the following month. "They have now graduated 4,029 Iraqi correctional officers, including 20 women who have undergone nine-week training courses," the official said. It was part of a program to help Iraqis build a new criminal justice system, including a police force, court system and prisons. The total cost of the prison program so far, according to an administration official, was $41.6 million... ...The new prison service is also using a wing of Abu Ghraib. Its mission is to house regular criminals rather than security detainees suspected of belonging to or helping insurgents fighting the U.S. occupation and the Iraqi government... ...The new prison service only houses a fraction of detainees held in Iraq, which is racked by violence across religious and ethnic lines and by a fierce insurgency against the U.S.-led foreign force there. U.S. and Iraqi troops uncovered two Iraqi Interior Ministry detention centers late last year at which prisoners had been tortured and abused. The Iraqi Correctional Service is operating nine prisons scattered around the country with around 10,000 inmates, of whom 6,000 have been sentenced for crimes and the rest are awaiting trial. Another prison is under construction and the U.S. administration has requested funding to build an additional prison in 2007. One U.S. prison expert questioned whether the U.S. prison system offered the best model for Iraq to follow. "I would have liked them to take a look at the practices of some of the European countries where they have an independent prison inspectorate, or Canada. The U.S. model is not exactly the best," said Jenni Gainsborough of Penal Reform International, which promotes cooperation between governments and non-governmental organizations to promote good prisons. The U.S. prison and jail system, with around 2.2 million inmates, accounts for a quarter of all the world's prisoners. Reports of violence, rape, abuse and medical neglect regularly emerge from the system. The official said conditions at the Iraqi prisons were "pretty basic." The only recreational facilities most provided was a soccer field within the prison grounds. "We're not into rehabilitation at this point. There are health and food services at all the prisons but we don't have educational programs or sophisticated counseling," he said. U.S. advisers had originally hoped to work with Iraqis who had staffed the prison system under former President Saddam Hussein but quickly abandoned the idea. "There was broad-based, widespread corruption so the decision was made to start from scratch," the official said. He said no abuses had been reported in the new system and Iraqi prison guards received human rights training. "We're attuned to honoring human rights, avoiding abuse, maintaining appropriate levels of security and avoiding corrupt practices and prosecuting them if they occur," he said. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #1 We're not into rehabilitation at this point. ....or at any point. The rehab of Charlie Manson would be more promising. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-02-08 20:19 |