Retrial begins in civil suit against contractor accused in Abu Ghraib prison scandal
A military contractor accused of contributing to the abuse of detainees at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison two decades ago is again on trial in a federal courtroom after a long-awaited civil case earlier this year ended with a hung jury
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A military contractor accused of contributing to the abuse of detainees at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison two decades ago is again on trial in a federal courtroom after a long-awaited civil case earlier this year ended with a hung jury.
The retrial of the lawsuit against Reston, Virginia-based CACI began Wednesday with jury selection and opening statements. Three former detainees at Abu Ghraib sued CACI in 2008, alleging that civilian interrogators at the prison in 2003 and 2004 conspired with soldiers there to abuse detainees as a means of “softening them up” for questioning.
CACI has long denied wrongdoing. The company said its employees had minimal interaction with the three plaintiffs in the case and that any liability for their mistreatment belonged to the government, not CACI, because the civilian interrogators were acting under the command and control of the military.
The case finally went to trial earlier this year at U.S. District Court in Alexandria after 15 years of legal wrangling and multiple appeals. The trial was the first time a U.S. jury heard claims brought by Abu Ghraib survivors in the 20 years since photos of detainee mistreatment, accompanied by smiling U.S. soldiers inflicting the abuse, shocked the world during the U.S. occupation of Iraq.
Ultimately, though, the eight-person jury could not agree on whether CACI should be held liable. A mistrial was declared in May after eight days of deliberations. Multiple jurors told The Associated Press that a majority of
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