Good News from Iraq: 9 Jun 2007

From MNF-I, New courthouse complex takes shape. (The recovering lawyer in me is rearing her head.)

An artist’s rendering of the new Rusafa Courthouse complex that will be a 5,000-square-meter, two-story building. About 120 Iraqis are helping to build it.

BAGHDAD — A new regional courthouse is taking shape to help Baghdad enforce the rule of law.

Construction on Rusafa Courthouse got under way in November and is currently 25 percent complete. About 120 Iraqis are on the crew helping build the facility that is scheduled to open in December. The 5000-square-meter, two-story structure will serve Rusafa District and neighboring areas east of the Tigris River, benefiting more than 1 million residents. A Witness Protection Facility is also part of the complex that will house up to 200 people testifying for the prosecution.

“We’re building the Rusafa Regional Courthouse for the Ministry of Interior,” said Navy Lt. Robert Leines, who is assigned to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “It’s a key institution in Iraq’s quest for law and order."