Iraq: Moving toward building new prisons to reduce overcrowding

INA – BAGHDAD 
 
The Ministry of Justice announced on Wednesday, the intention to build new prisons to reduce overcrowding, as Minister Khalid Shwani issued several decisions after his visit to Al-Karkh Central Prison.
 
"The importance of protecting the rights of inmates regardless of the sentences issued against them, which is the policy pursued by the Ministry of Justice and the current government by placing human rights on the priorities of its work. In addition to that, carrying out administrative and financial reforms for the Ministry's departments,” Shwani stressed, according to a statement by the ministry received by the Iraqi News Agency – INA.
 
He pointed out that "his visit to Al-Karkh Central Prison was in order to follow up the problems related, especially food, the shops' high prices and the problem of supplying materials in the prison sections, in addition to the issue of inmates' movements and the suspicions of corruption circulating around it,” as he asserted on "taking decisive decisions to address the problems that the correctional institutions suffer from, and to take legal measures against the defaulters."
 
The Minister of Justice instructed to provide the prison library with anti-extremism books and publications, as he expressed his full support for the efforts made in the university education center in the prison, which includes a number of inmates who are students within the University of Information and Communication Technology, while he ordered a financial reward payment for an inmate who ranked first in the Faculty of Business Information.
 
Shwani highlighted, saying "the Ministry of Justice is currently moving towards building new prisons to reduce overcrowding, and follow up on the issue of health care, by communicating with the Minister of Health to push towards providing the highest levels of support for the human rights.”