ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A jury in the United States awarded $42 million on Tuesday to three former inmates of Iraq’s infamous Abu Ghraib prison, finding a military contractor based in Virginia accountable for their torture and inhumane treatment that occurred two decades ago.
The verdict from the eight-member jury followed a previous trial earlier this year in which another jury failed to reach a consensus on whether the Virginia-based company, CACI, should be held accountable for the actions of its civilian interrogators who worked alongside U.S. Army personnel at Abu Ghraib during 2003 and 2004.
The jury awarded the plaintiffs—Suhail Al Shimari, Salah Al-Ejaili, and Asa’ad Al-Zubae—$3 million each in compensatory damages and an additional $11 million each in punitive damages.
During the trial, the three men provided testimony indicating that they had endured severe maltreatment, including beatings, sexual exploitation, forced nudity, and other forms of abuse while imprisoned.
While they did not claim that CACI’s interrogators directly perpetrated the abuse, they accused the company of being complicit in the acts, arguing that its interrogators had worked in conjunction with military personnel to inflict harsh treatment on detainees as a method of coercing them for questioning.
John O’Connor, the attorney representing CACI, opted not to comment on the possibility of an appeal following the jury’s decision.
Baher Azmy, a lawyer for the Center for Constitutional Rights—which brought the case on behalf of the plaintiffs—described the verdict as “an important measure of Justice and accountability,” commending the resilience of the three plaintiffs amid the numerous challenges posed by CACI.
This trial, and subsequent retrial, marked the first time in two decades that a U.S. jury addressed claims from survivors of Abu Ghraib, a scandal that exposed the mistreatment of detainees and drew global outrage when images of the abuse surfaced during the U.S. occupation of Iraq.
CACI contended that it was not complicit in any abuse of detainees, claiming that its staff had limited interaction with the three men involved in the case, and held that any liability should be assigned to the government.
Throughout both trials, the jury grappled with the decision regarding whether CACI or the U.S. Army bore responsibility for the conduct of CACI’s interrogators. During deliberations, they posed inquiries concerning the liability split between the contractor and the military.
As part of its defense, CACI maintained that it should not be held accountable for any misconduct attributed to its employees working under military direction, invoking the legal concept known as the “borrowed servants” doctrine.
On the other hand, the plaintiffs’ lawyers argued that CACI should be accountable for the actions of its personnel amidst the detainee mistreatment.
Initially filed in 2008, the lawsuit faced a lengthy 15-year delay due to extensive legal battles and multiple attempts by CACI to dismiss the case.
The plaintiffs’ legal representatives asserted that the company was liable for the maltreatment, even if it could not be definitively shown that CACI’s interrogators were the direct offenders.
Evidence presented during the trial included reports from two retired Army generals, who detailed the abuse and pinpointed the complicity of several CACI interrogators.
These reports cited an interrogator, Steven Stefanowicz, who was alleged to have misled investigators regarding his actions and had likely encouraged soldiers to mistreat detainees, also using dogs to intimidate them during interrogations.
Stefanowicz appeared at the trial for CACI through a pre-recorded video deposition, where he refuted the allegations of detainee mistreatment.