Abu Ghraib prison

Abu Ghraib prison is a prison in Abu Ghraib, a city 32 km west of Baghdad, Iraq. It became known when Saddam Hussein tortured and executed dissidents there. After the United States had invaded Iraq, there was also a scandal where US forces tortured prisoners.

A cell block at Abu Ghraib

Under Saddam

Saddam Hussein's government tortured and executed thousands of political prisoners at Abu Ghraib.^[1] Records suggest that in 1984 alone, up to 4,000 prisoners were executed there.^[2]

During the 1990s there were mass executions at Abu Ghraib, according to Amnesty International (an international human rights organization) and the U.S. Department of State.^[2] As many as several hundred prisoners were executed one after the other in these summary executions.^[1]

Abdou Hussain Saad Faleh being tortured by U.S. forces at Abu Ghraib. He was told if he moved, or fell off the block, he would be electrocuted. The picture became internationally recognised.

U.S. torture & prisoner abuse

During the Iraq War, members of the United States Army and the Central Intelligence Agency tortured and abused detainees at Abu Ghraib.^[3][4][5][6] These abuses included physical abuse, sexual humiliation, physical and psychological torture, and rape.^{[7][8][9][10]}

An Iraqi man named Manadel al-Jamadi was tortured to death during a CIA interrogation at Abu Ghraib.^[11] After he died, his body was desecrated.

In April 2004, CBS News published pictures of the prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib. This brought the torture scandal to public attention. There was widespread shock, outrage, and condemnation within the United States and internationally.^[12]