Protests Worldwide

When the actions at Abu Ghraib were exposed, citizens around the world were infuriated and adamantly protested. In Abu Ghraib, not only were Iraqi enemies and soldiers incarcerated, but ordinary civilians were unjustly detained. In the article “Pleading Prisoners and Families Outside Protest at the Horrors of Abu Ghraib Jail,” an Iraqi man, Mr. Ahmed stated,

"'An American armoured vehicle advanced to within 40ft of the demonstrators; it then trundled back again.' Mr. Ahmed said he had come to try to visit his brother Abdul who was locked up 4 months ago after U.S. troops discovered a Kalashnikov inside his vegetable shop… 'He had the Kalashnikov to defend himself from looters,' Mr. Ahmed said. 'I've only managed to visit him once. I found him crying. He was completely broken. He said the American soldiers had forced him to fill bags of sand using a teaspoon'" (Harding).

This quotation demonstrates that imprisonment was not limited to the Iraqi military, but those that were trying to defend themselves and were ultimately subjected to horrors that they should not have been. These instances encouraged the Iraqi people, from clerics to children, to protest in front of the prison (Harding). The article continues to quote chants at protests where people would yell, “America, where are human rights?”, “Bush, Bush, go to hell,” and “America is the enemy of Allah” (Harding). The voicing of the Iraqi families' displeasure with the United States and lack of rights being granted to inmates demonstrate their outrage and enraged reaction to the scandal.