Baghdadis welcome the decision to close Boca

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: A number of Baghdad residents welcomed U.S. forces’ decision to close Boca prison in Basra province, as part of the Iraq-U.S. long-term pact. They considered the closing process of this detention center as a big step toward executing the strategic agreement between the two countries. Ahmed Hussein, 44 years and a former detainee of Boca, said the prison is an infamous place. “U.S. guards used to deal with prisoners as dangerous terrorists,” Hussein, who is a resident of Sadr City in Baghdad, told Iraqi News. He said that it is a big step counted in favor of the Iraqi government to close this prison. “I demand that U.S. forces compensate me for the four months I spent in Boca without having committed any crime,” Hussein said. Abdilhussein Radhi, 51 years and civil servant who lives in al-Mashtal neighborhood, said that the Iraq-U.S. pact is on the right track. “The decision to close Boca serves the interests of all Iraqis,” Abdilhussein said. He said that he agrees to imprison Iraqi detainees in Iraqi, not U.S., detention centers. Mahmod Abunabil, 48 years who have a maintenance shop in Salhiya neighborhood, expressed his happiness to close Boca. “We hope that convicted criminals will be tried by the Iraqi judiciary,” Abunabil said. He said that Iraqis used to hear terrible stories about Boca, but this issue has finally come to an end. Omar Farooq, 32 years of al-Amiriya neighborhood, said that the closing Boca prison is an important event in Iraq’s modern history. “We hope that all U.S. prisons in Iraq will be closed,” Farooq said. He said that Iraq is a democratic country where people seek security and peace. Abughofran al-Samaraee, 38 years of al-Baiyaa neighborhood, said that by closing Boca prison, a dark era of Iraq’s contemporary history has reached an end. “We hope that every Iraqi person who has been arrested for no purpose would be released,” Abughofran said. He said that all Iraqis should work together to establish their democratic state. MH (S)/SR 1