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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Qassim Abdul-Zahra

Iraq's justice minister says prisons are at double their capacity as amnesty law takes effect

Iraq Justice Minister - (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

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.

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