{"id":27793,"date":"2023-08-06T12:02:58","date_gmt":"2023-08-06T19:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=27793"},"modified":"2023-08-06T12:02:59","modified_gmt":"2023-08-06T19:02:59","slug":"abu-ghraib-contractor-torture-case-likely-heading-to-trial-after-us-judges-order","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/08\/06\/abu-ghraib-contractor-torture-case-likely-heading-to-trial-after-us-judges-order\/","title":{"rendered":"Abu Ghraib Contractor Torture Case Likely Heading to Trial After US Judge’s Order"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Spc.<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

U.S. Army Spc. Charles Graner tortures hooded and handcuffed prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad, Iraq.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 (Photo: U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The ruling has cleared the way, almost 20 years hence, for our clients to tell their story in open court,” said the legal director at the Center for Constitutional Rights, which filed suit on behalf of detainees.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

BRETT WILKINS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aug 02, 2023 (ClommonDreams.org)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Survivors of torture at the hands of U.S. troops and private interrogators cheered a federal judge’s rejection this week of an infamous military contractor’s latest bid to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Iraqis formerly jailed in the notorious Abu Ghraib prison during the early years of the American-led occupation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Monday, Judge Leonie Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria refused to dismiss<\/a> the torture suit<\/a> against CACI Premier Technology<\/a>, a military-industrial complex linchpin based in nearby Arlington with more than 22,000 employees and billions of dollars in government contracts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I am so happy to receive the news that our case can proceed toward trial.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lawsuit against CACI\u2014filed in 2008 by the Center for Constitutional Rights on behalf of former detainees Suhail Al Shimari, Asa’ad Al Zuba’e, and Salah Al-Ejaili\u2014alleges that company officials conspired with U.S. military personnel in subjecting the plaintiffs to torture and other crimes. A 2004 investigation<\/a> by U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Anthony Jones and Maj. Gen. George Fay found that CACI employees participated in and encouraged the torture of Abu Ghraib prisoners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I am so happy to receive the news that our case can proceed toward trial,” plaintiff Salah Al-Ejaili<\/a>\u2014an Al Jazeera<\/em> journalist imprisoned and tortured for two months at Abu Ghraib\u2014said in a statement<\/a> Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I have stayed patient and hopeful during the two years we have waited for this decision\u2014and throughout the nearly two decades since I was abused at Abu Ghraib\u2014that one day I would achieve justice and accountability in a U.S. court,” he added. “Today brings me and the other plaintiffs one step closer.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After 20 years, a trial about US contractor complicity at Abu Ghraib is within reach. Judge Sides With Abu Ghraib Torture Survivors, Refuses to Dismiss Historic Case Against U.S. Military Contractor CACI | Center for Constitutional Rights https:\/\/t.co\/xlen882nh7<\/a><\/p>— Baher Azmy (@azmy_b) August 1, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote>