Abu Ghraib Prison

Iraqi prison notorious for the 2004 US torture scandal; CBS photographs triggered global condemnation.

Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad became notorious through the 2004 US torture scandal. American soldiers and CIA personnel subjected Iraqi detainees — many of them innocent, as a general later admitted — to physical abuse, sexual humiliation, torture, and in some cases death. CBS News published photographs in April 2004 triggering worldwide condemnation. Whistleblower Joseph Darby had brought the abuses to light. The site stands as one of the defining symbols of war crimes in the 21st century.