Prison Overcrowding Problems in Iraq – Causes and Solutions

English /Arabic

Second episode of the dialogue series with the legal investigator and Chairman of the Board of the  Justice Network for Prisoners’  Shwan Saber

Question:
International and national reports show chronic problems in prisons and Reformatories in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Overcrowding is one of the most prominent issues. In your opinion, what are the real causes of this problem and the other problems that have remained without a radical solution?

Answer:
In a previous meeting, we pointed out the bodies that carry out oversight work in prisons and Reformatories  in Iraq. We mentioned these bodies, including the Public Prosecution Office, the Inspector General’s Office, the oversight committees of the Iraqi Council of Representatives and the Kurdistan Parliament, as well as the High Commission for Human Rights and the Independent Human Rights Commission, in addition to the internal oversight of the authorities responsible for managing prisons and correctional facilities. We also noted other bodies whose work complements those mentioned, as well as Iraqi civil society — organizations, networks, civil coalitions, the media, and international bodies such as UN agencies and international non-governmental organizations. Finally, we referred to the Human Rights Council, which reviews human rights situations in member states every five years (currently); previously it was every four years. All these bodies conduct visits, follow-ups, and issue reports according to their legal mechanisms. Their reports all agree that human rights conditions in prisons, Reformatories, detention centers, and deportation centers are not satisfactory, not at the required level, and need great effort to improve and prepare a suitable environment so that prisons become institutions for reform, rehabilitation, and correction — not punitive or vengeful institutions. The issues commonly mentioned in the reports of these bodies and institutions relate to infrastructure, applicable laws, staff, services, and reform programs in general.

Infrastructure is likely the cause of many problems that have remained without radical treatment — buildings, essential daily necessities, hospitals, sports fields, green spaces, meeting places, family visits (private lawful conjugal visits), libraries, and even workplaces for staff of various responsibilities and job titles.

The lack of buildings that accommodate the large number of detainees and convicts — leading to a huge discrepancy between capacity and actual population — is the most prominent feature in many prison sites. Our visiting teams have recorded more than ten times the capacity in several prison sites. So you can imagine the problem of having (100 people instead of 10) or (1,000 people instead of 100), while financial, human, and service resources are allocated for the capacity, not for the actual number. In other words, if a facility is originally designed for 100 people, the staff, security, health services, and supplies are for 100 people, not for the actual number that may reach 1,000 or more.

This problem — the large gap between actual numbers and capacity — affects sleeping space, health, food, exercise, disease spread, education, family visits, security, the work of social researchers, the work of psychological researchers, scheduling court hearings, implementing reform programs — especially the classification of detainees and convicts — and many other things.

We, as the Prisoners’ Justice Network, have been conducting visits since 2007. Our organization used to issue separate reports until we combined them into a single annual report starting in early 2010. Not a single annual report has passed without mentioning the infrastructure problem and the noticeable discrepancy between actual numbers and capacity. And we are not alone — the reports of the bodies mentioned earlier also point to this problem. The recommendations of the Human Rights Council in 2010, 2014, 2019, and 2025 have all mentioned the existence of overcrowding problems and the inability of prison sites to provide the necessary space per prisoner, estimated at (2m x 2m). The problem has remained as it is to this day.

This is not because the government has failed to respond to solving the overcrowding problem, but because the government is unable to keep pace with Iraq’s massive population growth, Iraq’s opening to foreigners (millions of whom are now in Iraq), the influx of citizens from neighboring countries — especially Syria — as well as foreign companies and foreign labor, and many other factors.

How to solve the overcrowding problem?

1. Build prisons that match a population of nearly 46 million citizens, taking into account foreigners present for various reasons (work, refugees, companies, residents, etc.).

2. Avoid arrest whenever possible until the competent court decides the outcome of the case.

3. Resort to fines whenever possible instead of imprisonment.

4. Deport convicted foreigners to their countries whenever possible.

5. Resort to alternative penalties such as community service instead of imprisoning convicts and adding their expenses to the public budget.

6. Establish the position of a sentencing enforcement judge.

7. Consider drug addicts as patients, not criminals, throughout Iraq.

8. Find other solutions for certain offenses instead of arrest and imprisonment — such as begging, prostitution, and some minor crimes that do not threaten public security.

We will meet you in a new episode of this dialogue series…