Abu Ghraib reopens with new name

A gym, barber shop and planters of plastic flowers: Welcome to the gentler face of the infamous Abu Ghraib prison.
The lockup where US military guards tortured and humiliated Iraqi prisoners west of Baghdad has reopened with fresh paint and a new name in a bid to shed its notorious reputation.
Mohammed al-Zeidi, the assistant director of the Iraqi Rehabilitation Department, insisted the new prison would be operated in accordance with international standards.
"All kinds of human rights violations took place in this prison. So we felt that it was our duty to rehabilitate the prison," he said Saturday during a press tour of the grounds. "We turned it into something like a resort not prison. The first step was to change the name."
Iraqi officials defended their decision to reopen the facility now called the Baghdad Central Prison saying they need the space as the US military has begun handing over the thousands of detainees in its custody under a new security agreement that took effect on Jan. 1.