US Appeals Court Confirms Liability for Abu Ghraib Torture

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected CACI's bid to overturn the 2024 jury ruling, which found the company responsible for the severe abuse of Suhail Al Shimari, Asa'ad Zuba'e, and Salah Al-Ejaili. The plaintiffs, who suffered electric shocks, sexual abuse, and death threats, were awarded $3 million in compensatory and $11 million in punitive damages each. Senior Judge Henry Floyd and Judge Stephanie Thacker supported the decision, while Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr. dissented.

First filed in 2008 under the Alien Tort Statute, the case stands as the only lawsuit by Abu Ghraib victims to reach a full trial. Legal teams from the Center for Constitutional Rights, Akeel & Valentine, and Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler represented the survivors. Lead co-counsel Michael Buchanan praised the court for acknowledging the profound harm inflicted by CACI employees. For the plaintiffs, the ruling serves as a warning against future human rights abuses, with Al-Ejaili describing the outcome as a foundation for new legal precedents regarding corporate accountability.