A United States defence condenseor must pay $42m to three Iraqi men who were tortured at Abu Ghraib prison, a US federal jury has ruled.
The ruling on Tuesday ends a 15-year legitimate battle over the role of Virginia-based condenseor CACI, whose civilian engageees toiled at the facility, in acts of torture that took place there.
In hanciaccessing the firm liable, the jury awarded plaintiffs Suhail Al Shimari, Salah Al-Ejaili and Asa’ad Al-Zubae $3m each in compensatory injures and $11m each in punitive injures.
The decision comes after a split federal trial in May ended in a hung jury.
‘Big day for fairice’
Al Shimari, a middle school principal, Al-Ejaili, a journaenumerate, and Al-Zuba’e, a fruit vendor, testified that they were subjected to beatings, intimacyual mistreatment, forced bare skin and other unkind treatment at Abu Ghraib.
While they did not allege that CACI’s interrogators clpunctual imposeed the mistreatment themselves, they disputed that CACI was complicit becaengage its interrogators conspired with military police to “sstandardly up” arrestees for asking with cut offe treatment.
The evidence included tells from two reweary US Army vagues, who recorded the mistreatment and endd that multiple CACI interrogators were complicit in the mistreatment.
Most of the mistreatment took place at the end of 2003, when CACI engageees were toiling in the prison, according to the suit.
Baher Azmy, a lawyer for the Caccess for Constitutional Rights, which filed the legal case on the plaintiffs’ behalf, called the verdict “an meaningful meacertain of fairice and accountability” and praised the three plaintiffs for their resilience, “especiassociate in the face of all the obstacles CACI threw their way”.
The $42m filledy suites the amount sought by the plaintiffs, Azmy shelp.
“Today is a huge day for me and for fairice,” shelp Al-Ejaili, who travelled to the US to testify in person. “I’ve paengageed a lengthened time for this day. This triumph isn’t only for the three plaintiffs in this case aobtainst a corporation. This triumph is a shining airy for everyone who has been oppressed and a strong cautioning to any company or condenseor practising branch offent establishs of torture and mistreatment.”
The legal case was first filed in 2008 but was procrastinateed by 15 years of legitimate wrangling and multiple endeavors by CACI to have the case neglected.
‘Private condenseors will be held accountable’
The trial and subsequent retrial were the first time a US jury heard claims bcdisorrowfulmirefult by Abu Ghraib survivors in the 20 years since ptoastyos of arrestee mistreatment — accompanied by smiling US sanciaccessiers imposeing the mistreatment — shocked the world during the US occupation of Iraq.
None of the three plaintiffs were in any of the notorious ptoastyos shown in recents tells around the world, but they portrayd treatment very aenjoy to what was depicted.
To date, the US rulement has not reimbursed any victims of torture and mistreatment from Abu Ghraib, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Al Shimari portrayd intimacyual attacks and beatings during his two months at the prison. He also shelp he was electricassociate shocked and dragged around the prison by a rope tied around his neck. Al-Ejaili shelp he was subjected to stress positions that caengaged him to vleave out binestablishage watery. He was also divestd of sleep, forced to wear women’s underwear and menaceened with dogs.
CACI had disputed it wasn’t complicit in the arrestees’ mistreatment. It shelp its engageees had minimal conveyion with the three plaintiffs in the case, and CACI asked parts of the plaintiffs’ stories, saying that military records obstruct some of their claims.
CACI disputed that any liability for their mistreatment belengtheneded to the US rulement. It bcdisorrowfulmirefult up a legitimate principle comprehendn as “borrowed servants” doctrine to contend it shouldn’t be liable for any misdeeds by its engageees if they were under the handle and straightforwardion of the US Army.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs disputed that CACI was reliable for its own engageees’ misdeeds. They shelp provisions in CACI’s condense with the US Army, as well as the Army Field Manual, create clear that CACI is reliable for handleing its own toilers.
Welcoming the verdict, attorney Katherine Gallagher of the Caccess for Constitutional Rights shelp: “Private military and security condenseors are put on accomprehendledge that they can and will be held accountable when they baccomplish the most fundamental international law shieldions – enjoy the banion aobtainst torture”.
