Iraq plans to preserve Saddam-era prison as memorial site

AL-MUTHANNA, Iraq (MNTV) — Iraqi authorities are moving to convert the former Nuqrat al-Salman prison, notorious for abuses committed during Saddam Hussein’s rule, into a heritage and memorial site commemorating victims of the former Baath regime.

According to Iraqi News, local officials in Al-Muthanna province said the initiative aims to preserve the prison as a historical landmark documenting the imprisonment, torture and persecution of thousands of detainees, including Feyli Kurds, victims of the Anfal campaign and families of political opponents.

Takleef Al-Ziyadi, head of the Nuqrat al-Salman district, said the prison held large numbers of people from Al-Sulaymaniyah and Halabja, as well as relatives of Kurdish fighters who opposed Saddam Hussein’s government.

According to Al-Ziyadi, prisoners—including women, children and elderly detainees—were subjected to severe mistreatment inside the facility. He said many prisoners were executed, while others were buried in mass graves during the Baath era.

He added that former detainees and their families continue to visit the prison annually to commemorate those who suffered there.

Al-Ziyadi said a delegation from Iraq’s Ministry of Culture recently visited the site to complete administrative procedures required to designate the prison as a memorial documenting crimes committed under the former regime.

Officials hope the site will serve as an educational destination for students, researchers and visitors from across Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region. Al-Ziyadi called on the federal government, the Al-Muthanna Provincial Council and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to provide financial support for the prison’s restoration and preservation.

The initiative comes weeks after Baghdad’s Rusafa Criminal Court sentenced former prison official Ajaj Ahmed Hardan Al-Tikriti to death over crimes committed against Anfal detainees at Nuqrat al-Salman, including torture, murder and rape. 

The ruling was welcomed by Kurdish political parties, genocide researchers and victims’ families as an important step toward accountability for crimes committed during Saddam Hussein’s rule.