Kurdistan prisons overwhelmed as drug convictions surge

Shafaq News – Erbil

On Tuesday, the Kurdistan Region’s prison authority urged the Kurdish Parliament to reactivate parliamentary oversight and tackle overcrowding in correctional facilities, amid a sharp rise in drug-related convictions.

“The total number of inmates has reached 5,715, including 1,564 convicted on drug charges — nearly one-third of the total prison population,” said Ihsan Abdulrahman, General Director of the Region’s correctional facilities.

Erbil’s main men’s prison currently holds more than 2,100 inmates, with an additional 400 in pretrial detention centers. Al-Sulaymaniyah houses 1,676 inmates, and Duhok holds 1,351.

Meanwhile, women and juveniles are incarcerated in aging facilities dating back to the 1970s, with only partial renovations in recent years. Erbil houses 350 female inmates, al-Sulaymaniyah 100, and Duhok 117. However, the combined capacity of these facilities is around 100, Abdulrahman noted.

Iraq has faced criticism for its prisons, with some sides, such as the Justice Network for Prisoners NGO, calling them "unfit for human life".