The Daily Outrage

The CCR blog

New Trial Granted in Abu Ghraib Torture Case

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 A collage image with the words, Justice for Abu Ghraib. The collage includes an image of our plaintiff Salah Al-Ejaili, sitting on the edge of the U.S. Capitol Building with roses in front of him. Emerging from the Capitol Building is arrows pointing to an image of a hooded person, reminiscent of the torture techniques that took pace at Abu Ghraib. There is a crowd of people in front of the Capitol building holding a sign that says, stop war. The photo of Salah Al-Ejaili is the only part of the collage in full color.

New trial granted in Abu Ghraib torture case 

On Friday, a district judge granted our plaintiffs' motion for a new trial in Al Shimari v. CACI. This new trial is likely to take place in October. In granting it, the judge denied CACI's motion to have the case dismissed ("judgment as a matter of law"). This follows a jury trial in April, which ended in a mistrial after 8 days of jury deliberations. 

This continues the 16 year legal struggle for some measure of justice by three Iraqi Abu Ghraib torture survivors. Al Shimari v. CACI was filed in 2008 by Salah Al-Ejaili, a journalist, Suhail Al Shimari, a middle school principal, and Asa’ad Zuba’e, a fruit vendor, against a multi-billion dollar government contractor, CACI Premier Technology Inc., which was hired by the US to provide interrogation services at Abu Ghraib. 

We are honored to represent our clients against the Virginia-based company for its role in the torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment that our clients endured at the infamous prison.

Visit our Justice for Abu Ghraib resource page to learn more. 

 
 Photo of Lisa Crooms-Robinson, our Board of Directors co-chair. She is visible from the shoulders up, wearing a purple shirt. She has black think rimmed glasses and gold hoop earrings.

Congratulations to board co-chair Lisa Crooms-Robinson for prestigious fellowship 

Congratulations to Lisa Crooms-Robinson, our Board of Directors co-chair, for being named a Harvard Radcliffe Institute Fellow for the 2024-2025 academic year! Lisa will study at the Arthur & Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, focusing on the Pauli Murray archives.

Lisa has spent years studying Murray’s impactful career. Her research will look at Murray’s commitment to social justice, from jurisprudence to legal theology, and s her advocacy around feminism and human rights.

Lisa is a Professor of Law at Howard University School of Law where she teaches Constitutional Law, Gender and the Law, International Human Rights Law, Supreme Court Jurisprudence, and a course, “Equality According to Pauli.” She currently serves as interim dean at the University’s law school.

Lisa is an internationally recognized scholar of race, gender, and human rights. She has written shadow reports for the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and on U.S. compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 

 
 

Double your impact! Donations matched throughout the month of June 

We are excited to announce that all gifts made in June will be matched, up to $40,000, by a generous donor! 

Because of your support, we are able to partner with organizers leading some of the most important struggles for human rights and toward liberation. We need your financial backing to keep those critical fights going. And thanks to a generous matching donor, you can increase your impact for social justice.

Now is the best time to donate, make your gift today

 

Last modified 

June 17, 2024