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By Matthew Impelli
Life & Trends Reporter
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A jury awarded three former detainees of the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq $42 million this week.
An eight-person jury reached its decision following an earlier trial this year, in which jurors were unable to agree on whether CACI, a Reston, Virginia-based company, should be held responsible for the actions of its civilian interrogators who operated alongside the U.S. Army at Abu Ghraib prison in 2003 and 2004.
The Detainees
The jury granted $3 million in compensatory damages and $11 million in punitive damages to each of the plaintiffs—Suhail Al Shimari, Salah Al-Ejaili and Asa'ad Al-Zubae.
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The three men testified that they endured beatings, sexual abuse, forced nudity and other severe mistreatment while held at the prison.
While the plaintiffs did not claim that CACI's interrogators directly inflicted the abuse, they argued that the company was complicit, alleging that its interrogators conspired with military police to "soften up" detainees through harsh treatment in preparation for questioning.
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Reactions to Ruling
Following Tuesday's verdict, CACI's attorney, John O'Connor, declined to comment on whether the company plans to file an appeal.
Baher Azmy, an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights, which represented the plaintiffs, described the verdict as "an important measure of justice and accountability." He commended the three plaintiffs for their resilience "especially in the face of all the obstacles CACI threw their way."
Azmy noted that the $42 million award fully matches the amount the plaintiffs had sought in damages.
In a written statement, Al-Ejaili, a journalist, said, "Today is a big day for me and for justice."
"I've waited a long time for this day. This victory isn't only for the three plaintiffs in this case against a corporation. This 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 and abuse," Al-Ejaili added.
The Case
This trial and its retrial marked the first time in 20 years that a U.S. jury heard claims from Abu Ghraib survivors. The case comes two decades after images surfaced showing detainees being abused by smiling U.S. soldiers, a revelation that shocked the world during the American occupation of Iraq.
Although none of the three plaintiffs appeared in the widely publicized photos that exposed abuses at Abu Ghraib, they recounted experiences strikingly similar to the mistreatment shown in those images.
Al Shimari testified that during his two months at Abu Ghraib, he endured sexual assaults, beatings, electric shocks and was dragged by a rope tied around his neck. Al-Ejaili described being forced into stress positions that made him vomit black liquid, deprived of sleep, dressed in women's underwear and threatened with attack dogs.
CACI contended that it bore no responsibility for the detainees' mistreatment, asserting that its employees had limited interaction with the three plaintiffs and questioning aspects of their accounts.
The company argued that military records contradicted some of the plaintiffs' claims and suggested that the plaintiffs may have adjusted their narratives to build a case against the contractor. Ultimately, CACI maintained that any accountability for the abuse rested with the U.S. government.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
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