Prisoners clubbed with batons at Abu Ghraib prison

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Baghdad Central Prison, previously known as Abu Ghraib, continues to be rocked by prisoner abuse scandals. An amateur video showing inmates being beaten up has been leaked onto the Internet. A detainee reportedly filmed the images on his mobile phone on March 13. In the video, security forces are seen rounding up dozens of inmates in the prison’s courtyard and then striking them with batons. When contacted by the television channel Al Jazeera, one of the detainees explained that the people in charge at the prison called for security forces to help them quell a protest movement started by the prisoners. In the interview, he hinted that the movement was started by Sunnis. According to the Justice Ministry, a demonstration did take place a few days earlier, on March 11. The ministry released a statement saying that “detainees accused of terrorism” set fire to a room at the prison “in order to attract media attention on prisoner rights.” On March 21, following the video’s publication, Iraqi authorities opened an inquiry into the prisoners’ mistreatment. Back in November, the Arab Organisation for Human Rights had denounced cases of sectarian violence against detainees at Baghdad Central Prison.