Report: Iraq prison conditions improved

BAGHDAD, June 2 (UPI) -- Conditions at U.S. prisons in Iraq have improved since the Abu Ghraib scandal, but some are worried as authority is given to Iraqis, a report said Monday.

The Washington Post said interviews with U.S. and Iraqi officials, human rights workers and former detainees show American captors have eliminated the physical torture that was once part of the regimen at Iraqi prison camps, part of a new plan to avoid creating new enemies through mistreatment. But, as the military institutes a plan to turn many of its 21,000 prisoners over to the Iraqi government, some fear the abuse will resume.

And, even with the toning down of the harshest measures, the Post said criticism of U.S. tactics remains high. This is mostly over accusations that the U.S. military still detains too many people, rounding up and holding Iraqis for months without charges merely for being found nearby an insurgent attack.

The Post credited Gen. Douglas Stone for a policy of separating extremists from more moderate prisoners. But, it said, plans to turn many of them over to the Iraqi government is being criticized by human right groups who say its record on torture is not good.