Middle East News
One prisoner killed, 40 injured in Abu Ghraib prison riots
Sep 11, 2009, 16:37 GMT
Baghdad - One prisoner was killed and 40 others injured in riots in the western Baghdad prison formerly known as Abu Ghraib, media reports said on Friday.
Prisoners set fire to Baghdad Central Prison during riots that started late Thursday, the Aswat al-Iraq news agency reported, adding that the violence was triggered by a search for mobile phones.
'Jail authorities started to take security measures and put out the fire,' a media official at the Ministry of Justice was quoted by the agency as saying.
Iraqi lawmaker Zeinab al-Kanani told the German Press Agency dpa that the prisoners started the riots after security forces abused the prisoners.
Al-Kanani added that one member of jail's security stood in view of the detainees and damaged a copy of the Muslim holy book the Koran and tore up a picture of one of the major religious clerics in Iraq.
Abu Ghraib became infamous around the world after photos were distributed showing detainees being abused by US forces in 2004. The jail was taken over by Iraqi officials and was re-opened earlier this year under its new name.
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