Abu Ghraib is a prison located near Baghdad, Iraq, that became widely known during the early 2000s. It was originally built in the 1950s and used by the Saddam Hussein regime. After the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, the prison was taken over by American military forces and used to detain suspected insurgents and criminals. In 2004, reports and images emerged showing the mistreatment and abuse of prisoners by U.S. military personnel at Abu Ghraib. These revelations sparked international outrage and led to investigations, trials, and discussions about human rights and military conduct during the Iraq War.