US Defense Contractor Must Pay Former Iraqi Detainees $42 Million Over Abu Ghraib Torture: Jury

CACI Premier Technology denied that its employees engaged in torture at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

An Iraqi man waits for the release of his relative detained in the Abu Ghraib prison, near Baghdad, Iraq, on May 21, 2004. Wathiq Khuzaie/Getty Images

A Virginia jury on Nov. 12 awarded $42 million in damages to three Iraqi civilians who were tortured at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad, Iraq, more than two decades ago, after finding a U.S. defense contractor liable for its role in the abuse.

The jury ordered CACI Premier Technology Inc. to pay each of the three plaintiffs, Suhail Al Shimari, Salah Al-Ejaili, and Asa’ad Al-Zubae, $3 million in compensatory damages and $11 million in punitive damages, amounting to $42 million in total.