Source: ABC News
“As a general amnesty law takes effect in Iraq, the country’s prisons are facing a crisis of overcrowding, housing more than double their intended capacity, the country’s justice minister said in an interview. Justice Minister Khaled Shwani told The Associated Press on Saturday that Iraq’s 31 prisons currently hold approximately 65,000 inmates, despite the system being built to accommodate only half that number. He acknowledged that the overcrowding has put a severe strain on prison healthcare and human rights standards. … The general amnesty law passed in January had strong support from Sunni lawmakers who argue that their community has been disproportionately targeted by terrorism charges, with confessions sometimes extracted under torture.” (05/05/25)