(ALEXANDRIA, Va.) — A U.S. jury on Tuesday found a Virginia-based military contractor responsible for contributing to the torture and mistreatment of three former detainees at Iraq’s infamous Abu Ghraib prison and awarded them $42 million in damages.
The eight-person jury’s decision came after a previous jury earlier this year was unable to reach a consensus on whether Reston, Virginia-based CACI should be held accountable for the actions of its civilian interrogators who worked alongside the U.S. Army at Abu Ghraib in 2003 and 2004.
The jury awarded plaintiffs Suhail Al Shimari, Salah Al-Ejaili, and Asa’ad Al-Zubae $3 million each in compensatory damages and $11 million each in punitive damages.
The three men testified that they were subjected to beatings, sexual abuse, forced nudity, and other cruel treatment while imprisoned.
While they did not claim that CACI’s interrogators directly inflicted the abuse, they argued that CACI was complicit because its interrogators collaborated with military police to “soften up” detainees for questioning through harsh treatment.
CACI’s lawyer, John O’Connor, declined to comment on whether the company would appeal the verdict.
Baher Azmy, a lawyer representing the Center for Constitutional Rights, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs, hailed the verdict as “an important measure of Justice and accountability.” He also praised the three plaintiffs for their resilience, “especially in the face of all the obstacles CACI threw their way.”
The $42 million awarded matches the full amount sought by the plaintiffs, Azmy said.
“Today is a big day for me and for justice,” said Al-Ejaili, a journalist, in a written statement. “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 traveled to the U.S. to testify in person. The other two plaintiffs provided their testimony via video from Iraq.
This trial and subsequent retrial marked the first time a U.S. jury heard claims brought by Abu Ghraib survivors in the 20 years since photos of detainee mistreatment — alongside smiling U.S. soldiers inflicting the abuse — shocked the world during the U.S. occupation of Iraq.
None of the three plaintiffs appeared in any of the photos shown in news reports around the world, but they described treatment very similar to what was depicted.
Al Shimari recounted sexual assaults and beatings he endured during his two months at the prison. He also stated he was electrically shocked and dragged around the prison by a rope tied around his neck. Al-Ejaili said he was subjected to stress positions that caused him to vomit black liquid. He was also deprived of sleep, forced to wear women’s underwear, and threatened with dogs.
CACI maintained that it was not complicit in the detainees’ abuse. It stated that its employees had minimal interaction with the three plaintiffs in the case and questioned certain parts of the plaintiffs’ accounts, suggesting that military records contradicted some of their claims and that they may have embellished their stories to strengthen their case against the contractor. However, CACI fundamentally argued that any liability for their mistreatment should rest with the government.
As in the first trial, the jury struggled to determine whether CACI or the Army should be held responsible for any misconduct by CACI interrogators. The jury posed questions during their deliberations about whether the contractor or the Army should bear liability.
CACI, as part of its defense, argued that it shouldn’t be held accountable for any misdeeds by its employees if they were under the control and direction of the Army, citing a legal principle known as the “borrowed servants” doctrine.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs countered that CACI was responsible for its own employees’ misdeeds. They pointed to provisions in CACI’s contract with the Army, as well as the Army Field Manual, which clearly establish CACI’s responsibility for overseeing its own workers.
The lawsuit was initially filed in 2008 but was delayed by 15 years of legal battles and multiple attempts by CACI to have the case dismissed.
Lawyers representing the three plaintiffs contended that CACI was liable for their mistreatment even if they couldn’t prove that CACI’s interrogators were the ones who directly inflicted the abuse.
The evidence included reports from two retired Army generals, who documented the abuse and concluded that multiple CACI interrogators were complicit in the abuse.
Those reports concluded that one of the interrogators, Steven Stefanowicz, lied to investigators about his conduct and that he likely instructed soldiers to mistreat detainees and used dogs to intimidate detainees during interrogations.
Stefanowicz testified for CACI at trial through a recorded video deposition and denied mistreating detainees.