 The United States, which came under fire for abusing detainees in Iraq, has spent millions of dollars creating a new prison system there as part of a programme to revamp the criminal justice system from top to bottom. A Bush administration official, who asked not to be named, said around 70 US "correctional experts" including prison wardens, managers and instructors, had been involved in getting the new Iraqi correctional service up and running. The US experts established a training academy for Iraqi guards and administrators near Baghdad in December 2004, and the first class graduated the following month. "They have now graduated 4,029 Iraqi correctional officers, including 20 women who have undergone nine-week training courses," the official said. |