Abu Ghraib Torture Case Against Private Military Contractor Back in Court

Today, four Iraqi men who were tortured at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison will urge a federal district court to reject attempts by private military contractor CACI Premier Technology, Inc. (CACI) to have their lawsuit for the contractor's role in the torture dismissed. Center for Constitutional Rights Legal Director Baher Azmy will argue the case on the men's behalf. The men were subjected to electric shocks, sexual violence, forced nudity, broken bones, and deprivation of oxygen, food, and water. U.S. military investigators found that several CACI interrogators had conspired with U.S. soldiers (who were later court martialed) to have "sadistic, blatant, and wanton criminal abuses" committed against Abu Ghraib detainees in order to "soften" them up for interrogations.

The district court's previous dismissal of the case was overturned last year by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which held that torture survivors could sue a U.S. corporation involved in torture and other war crimes in U.S. courts under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS). CACI now argues that the question of whether it can be held accountable for its established role in the torture is a "political question" unreviewable by the courts. The district court rejected CACI's initial effort to have the case dismissed as a political question in 2009.

New York Times editorial on the importance of today's hearing: Will Anyone Pay for Abu Ghraib?

WHAT:

Oral argument in Al Shimari v. CACI Premier Technology, Inc.

WHEN:

Friday, February 6, 2015, 10:00am

WHERE:

Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse, 401 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, VA, Room 601