U.S. to Close Camp Bucca, Largest Prison in Iraq

The U.S. military will close Camp Bucca, the larger of its two remaining prisons in Iraq, by the weekend, leaving only one declared U.S. prison operating in the country. British forces first used the camp for prisoners of war at the outset of the 2003 invasion, but it was gradually turned into a detention facility to house insurgents. At its peak, the camp, located near the port of Umm Qasr in southern Iraq, held 26,000 prisoners. Many of them described their treatment there as harsh.

Get the new
PD toolbar!

Camp Bucca entered the spotlight after the Abu Ghraib scandal in 2004 raised awareness of U.S. military abuses of detainees in Iraq. The military attempted to rehabilitate the camp's image by providing education and allowing family members to visit. Inmates were split into specific areas for Sunnis, Shiites, and those thought to be in danger from other prisoners. Some detainees said they were treated well, but believed they never should have been there in the first place. Others described the camp as an ideal breeding ground for al-Qaeda radicals.

The U.S. military has been releasing around 1,000 prisoners per month, some of whom will now face the Iraqi justice system. Most, however, have not been charged. The military has several undeclared prisons in Iraq, and after Camp Cropper closes at the end of the year, remaining detainees will move to a new facility near Taji air force base outside Baghdad.

Largest of America's Two Prisons in Iraq to Shut [The Guardian]


Follow PoliticsDaily On Facebook and Twitter,
and download the new Politics Daily toolbar!