US defense contractor to pay former Iraqi detainees $42m for role in Abu Ghraib torture

WASHINGTON — A federal jury on Tuesday awarded a total of $42 million to three Iraqi men who endured torture at Baghdad’s Abu Ghraib prison over two decades ago –– holding a US government contractor accountable for contributing to the abuse.

The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed on behalf of former detainees in 2008 against Virginia-based defense company CACI Premier Technology Inc., according to a press release from the Center for Constitutional Rights – the organization representing the plaintiffs.

The plaintiffs alleged the company was hired by the US government following the US invasion of Iraq to provide interrogation services at Abu Ghraib, a US Army detention facility where Iraqi detainees were brutally tortured.

The plaintiffs, Suhail Al Shimari, a middle school principal, Asa’ad Zuba’e, a fruit vendor, and Salah Al-Ejaili, a journalist, each received $3 million in compensatory damages and $11 million in punitive damages, according to the release and court documents.

“The victory isn’t only for the three plaintiffs in this case against a corporation,” Al-Ejaili said in the release. “The victory is a shining light for everyone who has been oppressed, and a strong warning to any company or contractor practicing different forms of torture or abuse.

Plaintiffs alleged that CACI breached international law by deploying guards who tortured prisoners, according to the release.

Over 16 years, the company attempted to have the case dismissed more than 20 times before it was first brought to trial in April. The company’s lawyer blamed instances of abuse on US military police who he labeled as “a handful of bad apples” during opening statements at the time.

The case was retried in recent weeks after the jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision earlier this year.

CNN has reached out to CACI for comment. The company issued a statement expressing its disappointment in the verdict and its intention to appeal, the Associated Press reported.

Reports of widespread mistreatment and abuse at Abu Ghraib came to light over 20 years ago, when leaked photographs showed detainees stripped naked, bound by leashes and posing in human pyramids.

In the April trial, Al-Ejaili, who sought asylum in Sweden, recalled enduring instances of humiliation, beatings, and psychological torture under blinding lights and loud music –– making it virtually impossible to sleep.

The case marks the first time survivors of the US government’s “post-9/11 torture regime” testified in a courtroom, the Center for Constitutional Rights said –– calling the outcome “historic.” — CNN