US contractor found liable for Abu Ghraib torture, ordered to pay $42M
Sixteen years after three Iraqi men sued CACI for their torture at Abu Ghraib, a US jury awarded them $42 million in damages. | A federal jury on Tuesday ordered a US defense contractor, CACI Premier Technology Inc., to pay $42 million in damages to three Iraqi men who were tortured at the Abu Ghraib prison, according to their lawyers. ■ The company was found liable for its role in the abuse of the three men in 2003 and 2004 at the infamous prison, following a lengthy trial, the Center for Constitutional Rights reported. ■ The center stated that each of the plaintiffs—Suhail Al Shimari, a middle school principal; Asa'ad Zuba'e, a fruit vendor; and Salah Al-Ejaili, a journalist—was awarded $14 million in damages. The three men filed a lawsuit against CACI, a private company based in Arlington, Virginia, in 2008. ■ Abu Ghraib prison, located west of Baghdad, became a powerful symbol of the horrors of the US occupation of Iraq after evidence surfaced of detainee abuse by US soldiers at the facility.