The Iraqi government has launched an investigation into alleged abuse at a Baghdad prison after leaked footage emerged online showing inmates being beaten, humiliated, and, according to activists, sexually assaulted by fellow detainees.
While The New Arab could not verify the footage, Iraq's justice ministry spokesperson Ahmed Al-Luaibi confirmed the incidents took place, telling state media that the videos, which surfaced on social platforms, were "mostly old" but did not specify when they were filmed.
Al-Luaibi added that the ministry had formed a committee to investigate the matter and would pursue legal action to deter further violations in the prison system.
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— Tamara Alkhazraji 🍓 (@Tamarakhop) May 9, 2025 ">videos, reportedly recorded inside Taji Central Prison in Baghdad, appear to show prisoners from the capital assaulting fellow inmates from Najaf province. Activists allege the abuse included sexual violence, beatings with sharp objects, and sectarian insults.Some of the inmates shown in the footage appear to be using mobile phones and posting content to social media platforms, including TikTok, raising concerns about security breaches and oversight failures inside Iraqi prisons.
The leaks have triggered widespread anger among the public and renewed criticism of Iraq's prison conditions, which rights groups have long described as overcrowded, poorly supervised and rife with abuse.
Justice Minister Khalid Shwani confirmed he dismissed the director of Taji Prison in January, around the time the abuses are believed to have taken place.
"Militias control many Iraqi prisons," said a civil society activist, who asked not to be named. "The strong abuse the weak with impunity. Even some prison officers fear intervening, knowing the consequences outside the prison walls."
Journalists and activists have described a climate of impunity and a lack of accountability.
"Inmates buy drugs from staff, and others are bought and sold for systematic rape," Iraqi journalist Othman al-Mukhtar wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "Some prisoners must pay for medicine, sunlight, or access to the Qur'an. If they don't pay, they're punished."
In parliament, MP Mukhtar al-Mousawi told local Iraqi media that the clips revealed "a serious failure in prison management". He questioned how inmates had gained access to mobile phones and warned that some may be using them to coordinate with outside networks, including criminal and militant groups.
"The inspection procedures are clearly insufficient," he said. "This level of internal collapse is a threat to national security."
Former MP and judge Wael Abdul Latif told Al-Rasheed TV that Iraqi prisons were in a state of collapse. "The Justice Ministry oversees food and services, but internal security falls under the interior and defence ministries," he said. "Sexual assaults, drug trafficking and mobile phone circulation are all criminal acts under Iraqi law—yet they are rampant."
A report by the Justice Network for Prisoners in Iraq, published in January, found that more than 80 percent of the country';s prisons and detention centres are unfit for human habitation. The report cited severe overcrowding, lack of medical care, and systemic mismanagement.
Earlier this month, Justice Minister Shwani told the Associated Press that Iraq's 31 prisons are holding approximately 65,000 inmates—double their intended capacity. "When we took office, overcrowding stood at 300 percent," he said. "After two years of reform, we've reduced it to 200 percent. Our goal is to bring that down to 100 percent by next year, in line with international standards."
He said thousands more detainees remain in the custody of security forces, awaiting transfer to the prison system once space is available. Four new prisons are under construction, while two have recently opened, and six others have been expanded.
Last week, two inmates escaped from Hillah Central Prison, south of Baghdad, in a separate incident that has raised further concerns about prison security in Iraq.
The scandal comes amid growing public anger over broader allegations of abuse by Iraqi law enforcement. Last month, the death of engineer Bashir Khalid ignited a fierce debate over police brutality, triggering protests and demands for urgent reform.