BAGHDAD, (AP) – A senior justice official says the Iraqi government will reopen the notorious Abu Ghraib prison next month, but it will have a new name.
The announcement comes as the U.S. military has begun handing over detainees in its custody to the Iraqis under a new security agreement.
Deputy Justice Minister Busho Ibrahim says the renovated facility will be called Baghdad’s Central Prison because the previous name has left a “bitter feeling inside Iraqis’ hearts.”
Ibrahim adds the prison will house 3,500 inmates when it reopens in mid-February and will have a capacity for about 15,000 by the end of this year.
He told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Saturday that the prison will be operated according to international standards.