Former Abu Ghraib detainees seek justice in US retrial

Three Iraqi civilians who were detained at the Abu Ghraib prison two decades ago are seeing a retrial on Wednesday as they seek justice from the US firm CACI Premier Technology that provided interrogation services for the US military, resulting in widespread allegations of torture.

If the plaintiffs are successful, this case would be unusual in holding a US corporation accountable for alleged human rights abuses outside the US.

The case was filed under the Alien Tort Statute of 1789, which allows for foreign citizens to bring lawsuits in US federal court for gross violations of international law. The US Supreme Court have limited the scope of the statute over the past several years.

CACI, through their own legal representation, have attempted to have the case dismissed more than 20 times.

When it went to court six months ago, the judge declared a mistrial in May due to a hung jury, which CACI have insisted should have put the matter to rest. However, this week the case will be heard in a courtroom in northern Virginia, the location of CACI’s corporate headquarters.

“Throughout this litigation, CACI has sought to deflect any responsibility for its role in the torture at Abu Ghraib, claiming that because it was hired to work with the US military, only the military bears any responsibility for the cruelty Iraqi detainees suffered there,” Katherine Gallagher, a Senior Staff Attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, representing the plaintiffs, said in a public statement. 

“This is not what the law says, and CACI should be held responsible for its employees’ role in the abuses,” she emphasised.

“It is enough that we tried and didn’t remain silent,” Salah Al-Ejaili, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement following the mistrial. “We might not have received justice yet in our just case today, but what is more important is that we made it to trial and spoke up, so the world could hear from us directly.” 

“This will not be the final word; what happened in Abu Ghraib is engraved into our memories and will never be forgotten in history. Every just person stands with us. I wish to thank the legal team and everyone that helped us along the way: you gave a lot for this case and believed that justice is possible, which is a big thing,” he added.