The Iraqi Ministry of Justice announced the imminent opening of new reform centers in the provinces, committing to completely eliminate prison overcrowding by the end of this year. Ministry spokesperson Ahmad Laibi stated in an interview with "Baghdad Today" that "in the upcoming period, many reform centers will be opened in several provinces, and by the end of this year, we will completely eliminate the overcrowding issue, addressing this important file from which all solutions within the prisons arise, whether they are health-related, food-related, or others."
He pointed out that "improving the conditions of Iraqi prisons is a priority for the Iraqi government, and we have started addressing the overcrowding issue. This process began with the expansion of existing reform departments, and there will soon be new reform cities in collaboration and coordination with governors, following the directives of the Prime Minister and the field visits conducted by the Minister of Justice every two weeks to monitor the reform departments and judicial offices inside the prisons."
Laibi added that "recently, an agreement was reached with the governors of Basra and Al-Muthanna to establish reform cities that will include model prisons, as well as police stations, detention centers, health centers, and more."
On Wednesday, the Reform Department of the Iraqi Ministry of Justice announced progress in the construction phases of the Kut Central Prison project, with completion at 83%, according to the scheduled timeline to finish the project by April 2025. The Director of Media and Government Communication, Murad Al-Saaidi, stated in a statement that the design of the prison is based on European style with an (X) system, which provides advanced central control over the six buildings, each containing four wings, with each wing having 48 detention rooms, each accommodating just two inmates.
On Thursday, July 11, 2024, the Ministry of Justice announced the commencement of the construction of a central prison in the town of Lilan in Kirkuk province, indicating that "the basic design of this prison includes several reform institutions, including a juvenile observation house and a rehabilitation school for male juveniles in the province."
It added that "the project is planned to cover an area of 200 dunams, including prison halls for men and women, in addition to buildings for education, vocational workshops, medical services, visitation, and all service facilities." The expansion of the prisons and their capacity is necessary due to overcrowding in Iraqi prisons, which stands at 300%, as the capacity is 30,000 inmates, while the number of convicted and incarcerated individuals in Iraq ranges between 75,000 to 100,000 according to various statistics.
