Tuesday, April 16, 2024
Year : 2, Issue : 16
A historic trial began on Monday in the US state of Virginia, marking the first time that survivors of the early 2000s Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal have brought their claims of torture to a US jury, now 20 years on.
Three Iraqi detainees filed a lawsuit against military contractor CACI, marking a significant step forward in justice two decades after the prison’s torture and abuse scandals during the Iraq War, according to CNN.
In a civil trial unfolding in Alexandria, northern Virginia, near Washington, DC, the plaintiffs confronted their alleged tormentors, seeking accountability for the atrocities endured in the notorious facility located in Abu Ghraib, Iraq, some 32 kilometers (20 miles) west of the capital Baghdad.
Salah Al-Ejaili, a former Iraqi journalist and one of the three plaintiffs, took the stand on Monday and recounted the “fear and terror” he endured during his 40 days of captivity in Abu Ghraib, saying: “I wished to die.”
Al-Ejaili, now living in Sweden after seeking asylum there, described the relentless torture tactics employed at the facility, run by the US military along with CACI, including beatings, sleep deprivation, and forced nudity. “We would hear the screams of the detainees,” he said.
‘SYSTEMIC ABUSE’
Al-Ejaili’s chilling account offers a glimpse into the deep trauma inflicted upon those held captive. CACI, the defense contractor charged with overseeing interrogations at Abu Ghraib, denied any wrongdoing.
John O’Connor, the contractor’s lawyer, sought to deflect blame onto a few “bad apples” within the US military, absolving the company of responsibility. This pivotal case holds immense importance, not only for the victims seeking justice but also for global observers, according to human rights defenders.
The verdict will define the level of accountability for the US involvement in the Abu Ghraib scandal, emphasizing the crucial need to prioritize human rights even in times of war.
20 YEARS OF SEEKING TRUTH AND JUSTICE
Twenty years have passed since the media reported that US forces and the CIA tortured Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib and other US-run prisons, according to Sarah Sanbar, a researcher in the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch investigating human rights abuses in Iraq.
A federal court in Virginia began to hear the case of Al Shimari et al. v. CACI on Monday, a lawsuit brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights on behalf of three Iraqi torture victims.
Source: Anadolu Agency
