Trial revives scandal of Abu Ghraib

A former detainee at the infamous Abu Ghraib Prison described to jurors yesterday the type of abuse that occurred 20 years ago: beatings, being stripped naked and threatened with dogs, stress positions meant to induce exhaustion and pain.

The testimony from Salah Al-Ejaili, a former Al-Jazeera journalist who spent more than a month at Abu Ghraib in 2003, marks the first time that survivors of the United States prison in Iraq have been able to bring their claims of torture to a US jury.

Al-Ejaili and two other Abu Ghraib detainees are suing Virginia-based military contractor CACI, accusing the company of contributing to their torture by sending over civilian interrogators as part of an Army contract. The suit cites evidence in government investigations that CACI contractors encouraged military police to “soften up” detainees ahead of their interrogations.

CACI’s lawyer, John O’Connor, acknowledged that some Abu Ghraib detainees suffered horrific abuse.

But he questioned whether the three detainees could prove they themselves were abused. Even if they were abused, there’s no evidence that CACI interrogators inflicted abuse on them. Lastly, he said that even if CACI employees engaged in wrongdoing, it was the US military that oversaw the interrogators’ conduct.

The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Baher Azmy, said it’s irrelevant whether CACI interrogators directly inflicted abuse on his clients. The company is liable, he said, because CACI interrogators conspired with military police by urging them to abuse detainees before questioning.