Dark lessons in Baghdad juvenile prison

[Barrett808]

Dark lessons in Baghdad juvenile prison
By JIM KRANE
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Monday, March 29, 2004 · Last updated 8:50 a.m. PT

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Haidar Ali Hamid, with his close-cropped hair, scarred face and bright orange jumpsuit, is one of about 30 accused murderers in Baghdad's hard-bitten juvenile prison.

Hamid, whose eyes well with tears as he denies his role in a crime that left his cousin shot dead, is just 13 years old.

"My cousin killed himself and they blamed me," he said quietly Sunday as his skeptical social worker looked on. "The policeman hit me hard and said, 'You must say you killed him.'"

Hamid is among 100 or so gangly boys in west Baghdad's Karkh Juvenile Detention Facility, the city's sole lockup for child criminals. They belong to the criminal underworld that erupted in Iraq after the U.S.-led toppling of Saddam Hussein and his security services.

The largest group of 13- to 18-year olds are suspected or convicted of armed robbery. Others are in for rape. Many cannot read or write. Some were homeless when they were arrested.

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