BAGHDAD , Iraq ( CNN ) -- The notorious Iraq prison once called Abu Ghraib has reopened under Iraqi government control . And the Ministry of Justice has launched a public-relations campaign to show it has changed since the days when prisoners were tortured there -- first under Saddam Hussein , and later by American troops . The Iraqi Ministry of Justice gave journalists an inside look at the prison formerly known as Abu Ghraib . It is now called Baghdad Central Prison , and has water fountains , a freshly planted garden and a gym -- complete with weights and sports teams ' jerseys on the walls . Under Saddam Hussein , tens of thousands of Iraqis were thrown behind bars here . There were horrific stories of torture , abuse , execution without trial . In 2004 , the prison was once again thrown into the international spotlight , this time because of abuse by U.S. troops . Watch how the prison has been revamped » . Detainees were photographed in degrading positions , as Americans posed next to them smiling . The images -- naked prisoners stacked on top of each other , or being threatened by dogs , or hooded and wired up as if for electrocution -- caused outrage around the world when they were leaked to the news media in May 2004 . Brig . Gen. Janis Karpinski , commander of the Abu Ghraib prison at the time , was demoted in rank to colonel because of the scandal . Seven low-ranking guards and two military intelligence soldiers -- described by then-U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld as `` bad apples '' -- were disciplined after the scandal surfaced . Rumsfeld later said the day the scandal broke was the worst in his tenure as defense secretary . `` Clearly the worst day was Abu Ghraib , and seeing what went on there and feeling so deeply sorry that that happened , '' Rumsfeld said shortly before leaving office at the end of 2006 . `` I remember being stunned by the news of the abuse . '' The United States always denied it was a matter of policy to torture detainees . But it shut down Abu Ghraib in September 2006 and turned the facility over to the Iraqis . They have revamped and reopened it . Rooms have been transformed and renovated . CNN was told , but not shown , that a few hundred prisoners are here already , in a revamped part of the facility that can hold up to 3,000 prisoners . The capacity is critical to help deal with overcrowding at Iraq 's other facilities and the potential security threat . The Iraqi government is going to great lengths to try to change the image this facility has . It organized a tour for journalists , very carefully orchestrated by the Ministry of Justice . Murtada Sharif , the only Ministry of Justice official to speak to CNN on camera about the prison , admitted Abu Ghraib is synonymous in people 's minds with the inhumane acts that took place there both before and after the fall of Saddam in 2003 . `` We want to change its image , to make it a place of justice , '' he said . A wing that used to hold a thousand prisoners In Saddam Hussein 's time now is ready for 160 . Cells that used to hold between 30 and 50 people now have a capacity of eight . Prisoners and their families actually get to see each other -- the prisoners behind a cage-like structure , the families on the other side of the fence , in a courtyard with a playground for the children . Again , it is part of the whole effort to create a different atmosphere . But human rights organizations in Iraq say abuse and torture remain routine in Iraq 's detention facilities . Changing Abu Ghraib 's infamous reputation may take more than fresh paint and fake flowers .
Abu Kamal is now Baghdad Central Prison , with a garden and a gym . In 2004 , pictures of prisoners being humiliated by American guards were published . Ministry of Justice trying to show that the prison , now under Iraqi control , has changed .