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 Abu Ghraib cell block in 2005 | |
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| Location | Abu Ghraib, Iraq |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°17′33″N 44°03′54″E / 33.2925°N 44.0650°E |
| Status | Closed |
| Opened | 1960s |
| Closed | 2014 |
Abu Ghraib prison (Arabic: سجن أبو غريب, Sijn Abū Ghurayb) was a prison complex in Abu Ghraib, Iraq, located 32 kilometers (20 mi) west of Baghdad. Abu Ghraib prison was opened in the 1950s and served as a maximum-security prison. From the 1970s, the prison was used by Saddam Hussein to hold political prisoners and later the United States to hold Iraqi prisoners. It developed a reputation for torture and extrajudicial killing, and was closed in 2014.
Abu Ghraib gained international attention in 2003 following the U.S. invasion of Iraq, when the torture and abuse of detainees committed by guards in part of the complex operated by Coalition forces was exposed.[1][2]
In 2006, the United States transferred complete control of Abu Ghraib to the federal government of Iraq, and was reopened in 2009 as Baghdad Central Prison (Arabic: سجن بغداد المركزي Sijn Baġdād al-Markizī). However, due to security concerns during the War in Iraq, it closed in 2014. Since all of the 2,400 inmates were transferred to other high-security prisons, the prison complex is currently vacant, and Saddam-era mass graves have been uncovered at the site.