Jury Holds Contractor Liable for Abu Ghraib Torture

The jury ordered CACI to pay the plaintiffs, Suhail Al Shimari, Asa'ad Al Zuba'e, and Salah Al-Ejaili, $42 million in total damages. This includes $3 million in compensatory and $11 million in punitive damages for each of the three men. The lawsuit, brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights under the 1789 Alien Tort Statute, alleged that company officials conspired with military personnel to subject detainees to severe physical and psychological abuse.

A Legacy of Impunity

This case represents the first time survivors of post-9/11 U.S. torture have testified in an American courtroom. The proceedings featured testimony from former military police, CACI employees, and U.S. generals, exposing a systemic environment of cruelty. While eleven low-ranking soldiers were previously convicted for their roles in the 2004 scandal, senior officials who authorized the interrogation techniques have largely avoided legal consequences. For the plaintiffs, the verdict serves as a rare acknowledgment of the horrors endured at a site that became a global symbol of wartime abuse. Baher Azmy, legal director for the Center for Constitutional Rights, praised the jury for crediting the survivors' accounts despite years of aggressive attempts by CACI to have the case dismissed.