RICHMOND, Va. — The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is hearing an appeal from CACI, a U.S. military contractor, which was ordered to pay $42 million for its involvement in the abuse of detainees at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison during the Iraq War. The appeal stems from a civil lawsuit verdict delivered last year.
The case centers on the testimony of three former detainees: Suhail Al Shimari, Salah Al-Ejaili, and Asa’ad Al-Zubae, who reported extreme levels of mistreatment at Abu Ghraib, including beatings and sexual abuse. A jury awarded each plaintiff $3 million in compensatory damages and $11 million in punitive damages.
While the plaintiffs did not claim that CACI interrogators directly inflicted the abuse, they allege that the company was complicit in the torturous treatment by conspiring with military police to "soften up" detainees for interrogation. CACI, however, has consistently denied any wrongdoing, stating that its personnel were not responsible for directly inflicting harm upon the plaintiffs.
Following the release of graphic images in 2004 depicting the harsh conditions and abuses within Abu Ghraib—such as detainees being stacked in human pyramids and being subjected to humiliation—military personnel involved faced justice, yet no civilian interrogators from CACI have been criminally charged, despite military investigations attributing wrongdoing to several of them.
The recent civil trial marked the first opportunity for a jury to hear allegations from former detainees concerning their treatment at Abu Ghraib, two decades after the incident drew international outrage. The plaintiffs' compensation demand aligns with the $42 million awarded, which surpasses the $31 million that CACI received for supplying interrogation services at the prison.
