A rights group has called for the reopening of torture cases against a US private military contractor that conducted interrogations at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

Center for Constitutional Rights legal director Baher Azmy said Tuesday that four former Iraqi detainees, who say they were tortured at the prison, should be allowed to pursue their claims against CACI Premier Technology Inc.

CACI employees have been accused of encouraging US soldiers to prepare detainees for torture with electrical shocks, sexual violence and forced nudity.
"CACI indisputably played a key role in those atrocities, and it is time for them to be held accountable," Azmy said.
In July 2013, A US judge in a District Court in Alexandria dismissed the case filed by the Iraqi nationals, saying the court did not have jurisdiction to hear the lawsuit because the incidents happened outside the United States.

However, Azmy argued that CACI Premier Technology Inc is a US corporation that was working "in a US-run prison at a time when Abu Ghraib and Iraq were occupied by the US, so it's not really a foreign action."

“US courts must at last provide a remedy for the victims of torture at Abu Ghraib,” he added.

The Arlington-based company says that there is no evidence that the detainees “had any contact with an employee” or that employees “had any interaction with whatever unnamed persons allegedly mistreated plaintiffs.”

Abu Ghraib gained worldwide notoriety when widespread abuse of detainees by US troops leaked out in 2004. The scandal first broke when photos showing soldiers abusing detainees were published in US media.

Between 2004 and 2006, 11 soldiers were convicted in court martials for the torture and sexual humiliation of Iraqi prisoners.

By Press TV

 

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