Iraqi Citizen Sues U.S. Contractors Over Abu Ghraib Torture
By Logan Murphy Monday May 05, 2008 4:15pm
LOS ANGELES - An Iraqi man sued two U.S. military contractors, claiming he was repeatedly tortured while being held at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison for more than 10 months.
Emad al-Janabi's federal lawsuit, filed Monday in Los Angeles, claims that employees of CACI International Inc. and L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. punched him, slammed him into walls, hung him from a bed frame and kept him naked and handcuffed in his cell beginning in September 2003.
Also named as a defendant is CACI interrogator Steven Stefanowicz, known as "Big Steve." The suit claims he directed some of the torture tactics.
At one point after passing out, al-Janabi said, he was told by an L-3 translator "welcome to Guantanamo." He said he even asked a cellmate whether he could see the ocean from a window. Read on...
Senator John McCain may look the other way when it comes to torture, but we won't. These atrocities were committed in our name. I hope "Big Steve" and all the rest of these war criminals are punished to the fullest extent -- but we live in Bushworld and it is unlikely any of these thugs will ever be held accountable. Senator Barack Obama has said that if elected he will investigate crimes committed by the Bush regime...we intend to hold him to that.
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Give Big Steve and all his ilk [Deleted. Please do not advocate violence-even state sponsored violence on this site-Sitemonitor] for crimes against humanity.
This may sound very naive, but you wonder when Big Steve and his ilk lost their humanity. I read about this, look at the Iraqui man's face and am filled with shame. What's worse is Americans who support this treatment, giving no thought that what's done to someone else could be done to you next. I hold out little hope that justice will ever be served.
Are these two companies protected by the same sort of contract that protects blackwater?
Big Steve's wallet may be about to shrink.
I have been ashamed to be known as American throughout this whole adminstration. And unless Obama is elected, I think the shame will continue.
First exit polls Hllary up 7 in Indiana, Obama up 12 in North Carolina
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/06/north-carolina-indiana-pr_n_100...
pissed off patricia @ 3:
to start with they are a bit different, they are both technology and intelligence companies whereas blackwater is more troop level, tactical manpower. CACI markets itself as an IT company.
if you mean are they "no bid" and do they have immunity to prosecution under Iraqi and US law then probably. it's a similar situation in that regard.
if these companies were at best Orwellian then you wouldn't have a lot to worry about. governments can be overthrown and leaders can be put up against a wall. we are talking about corporate legal protection and stocks owned by pension plans and little old ladies.
This is disgusting.
As the veterans of World War 2 slowly pass into the ages, i am reminded of how proud I was of my country and the men who liberated the world from Nazi and Fascist tyranny.
Now, though I still support the men and women who fight to defend our country, I feel nothing but shame towards the government of this country for what it has done to people like Mr. Emad al-Janabi. My government has abused and tortured him and stolen his life. My God, what have we become?
Why don't we haul in some of those Saudis that really attacked us, and the other Saudis who are supplying money to bin Laden. Oh, no, they're our life-time buddies. But this poor bastard, all he wanted to do is live his life. I hope the fires in hell are hot for Bush and all his assholes.
You have to wonder how many more Iraqis are out there who suffered the same experiences and are afraid to speak up?
God I wish Obama could take both states tonight. I am so tired of him having to run against Hillary, Bill, the media and McCain. This could be a three martini evening. Three to celebrate if he could win both states and three to kill the pain of knowing this thing is not over if he only wins one, or god forbid, none.
Clinton moves the goal post...........again. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/06/clinton-camp-tries-to-red_n_100...
I'm getting to the point if Hillary cheats with including Michigan and Florida and super delegates to win I'll stay home. Cheating is for Republicans. I went from being somewhat for Hillary (after Edwards dropped out) to somewhat for Obama to now dead set against Hillary. She has proven herself to be mad with power willing to take down the Demorats and put McCain in the White House to get elected. Edwards backed out when he knew he couldn't win fair and square. Not Hillary, she will do whatever it takes.
Daniel @ 6:
Thank you for that information. I seemed to remember before Bremmer left Iraq he signed something making all contractors immune from Iraqi laws, or something to that effect.
The Suit will probably go nowhere; because McCain's Military Commissions Act of 2006 which was negotiated behind closed doors by Bush himself is a Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice through Legislation giving Civilians Immunity from Prosecution.
Bush signed this Law, he demanded, giving himself a "PARDON" along with his Administration, CIA, and CIA Contractors for war crimes.
Bush allowed the Troops who followed the directions of these Criminals to crash and Burn for His Administrations Crimes.
Support the Troops, Repeal in it's entirety the MCA of 2006!!!
the whole point of the bushbots ,and the use of the Constitution and worldly or soverign pacts, as nothing but toilet paper , is that it is just another step in the transformation of the New World Order.
look to Europe,
look to the dollar.
the final resultss?
one international identity
centralized control of people{your weapons please}
zero growth society
a state of perpetual imbalance
centralized control of all foreign and domestic policies
empowerment of the UN
expansion of NATO
one legal system
one monetary system
one socialist welfare sate
control of all education
these are stated goals of the Bildenberg group
they have had as members all us presidents since ike, and also the leaders most of the industrial world
they will make sure their people are in power
look to the installations of g bush and tony blair
who both lost the public votes
Ruthless People @ 9:
There was talk from her camp again today about taking this to the rules committee to try to force the votes in Fla and Mich to count. Just how far is she willing to go to get what she believes is owed to her? It's time for the super delegates to step in and end this mess. We can't have the party rules and then special rules just for Hillary.
I used to think she might make a good president but now those thoughts are gone. Her ego seems to be more in charge than her head and her heart.
Mike @ 7:
what have we become?
we've become a consumerist society too comfortable to behave like adults. we behave like selfish, spoiled and poorly socialized children.
we've been marketed to so much that we seek identity through our purchases.
none of this is new. it's been going on for decades in some cases and centuries in others.
My money is on the horse that says the US will finagle their way out of this one and put the blame on the prisoners. This is NOT your fathers country anymore... this is BUSHLAND and things are done differently here.
Iraqi sues U.S. contractors over torture... Ya know, in a normal world, something like that might actually fly...A day in court, justice prevailing, monatary damages assessed and penalties meted out to the guilty.... in a normal world.... Of course in a normal world, the preconditions that led to the lawsuit wouldn't exist to begin with.... So, what are the odds this guy gets any further with this lawsuit than a lot of 'official' lipservice, and people commenting about it on this blog???? It ain't like this is any kind of normal world anymore.................JD
Pata Salada @ 4:
No, my friend. Shame is for the guilty. We did not lead this country into an illegal war. We didn't fail to protect it. They are the ones who should feel shame and stand trial.
and if they are too arrogant to feel shame, then it is our duty to make sure they feel the full spectrum of thier human emotions.
i'm tired of complaining. i'm tired of being told what to do by a bunch of criminals. if hillary becomes the nominee, it will be time to act.
no more blogs, no more pointed letters.
ACT.
I want to see the child rapists of AbuGarib named and shamed then indicted or sued and jailed, and the ones who set the dogs on that cowering girl.
ferrofluid @ 18:
They (contractors or CIA) were raping children in front of their parents to get them to confess or get information on the playing deck Iraqis.
Those evil f&^%ers need to be named, shamed and prosecuted and jailed for the rest of their lives.
ferrofluid @ 19:
They videoed it too, same as the CIA waterboarding, supposedly the video tapes of the child rapes ended up in Washington for the entertainment of whoever.
crickets
Just remember they are doing it over there, so they will be good at it here.
ferrofluid @ 20:
Pervy Thug lawmakers.
pissed off patricia @ 3:
Yes, they're probably protected under a Bush executive order. Dunno if it's EO 13303?
Jack Damage @ 16:
Remember, this is the country who is ready to prosecute a 21 year old kid who has spent the last 6 years in Gitmo for war crimes because someone in the house he was hiding in threw a hand grenade at attacking American soldiers and one of them died.
“Guantanamo’s Child: The Untold Story of Omar Khadr”
Bush's EO 13303 appears to protect just the oil companies and oil interests. If the military companies aren't exempted, then the Bushies will probably claim the US doesn't torture. The odds this case will receive the attention it deserves and the grievances will even be heard are slim.
You must be a sorry son of a bitch to take orders and torture. Some people are just insane!
No. L-3 is not tied to Blackwater. L-3 has suffered enormous losses of translators. There is a former L-3 employee employed by a contractor in Iraq currently even though she is not qualified. She wasn't even qualified for her job at L-3, but she is attractive and has big tits. SHe was known for being "loose."
Senator Barack Obama has said that if elected he will investigate crimes committed by the Bush regime…we intend to hold him to that.
As for the next congress after the election, we need to hold their feet to the fire and get results. There is so much shit to clean up in this country. Investigating these mercenary organizations and holding them and this administration accountable for war crimes would go a long way towards healing this country's reputation, assuming of course that Dems take back the legislative and executive branches.
I feel bad about what happened to this guy, really I do, but he really needs to GET OVER IT!!!!
OK, now that that is settled... let's move on...
That's right, hit them where it matters, their wallets. Perhaps he's why ads are running here about irresponsible lawsuits. The ads did say that anyone can be guilty of irresponsible suing.
Good for him. I hope he gets millions for his pain.
This suit will be one of very few despite the torture of hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent Iraqis.
First, Emad al-Janabi had the money to travel to the US. Second, he managed to get in and not be put on a "threat list" because he was once under arrest (he was presumed guilty in Iraq, so it's surprising he isn't now).
For those who forgot, George Putz and the neo-convicts enacted a law that said lawsuits could not be filed against Americans (soldiers, civilians, or contractors) from Iraq. Only suits filed in the US will be heard.
Given that most of the US's victims will be too poor to travel and prevented from entering the US if they try, there won't be many lawsuits like this. And odds are, politicians and the Attorney Degenerate will force this trial to be heard by a mis-judge who was appointed by George Putz.
Those arrested never got a fair trial (if they got one at all), and the victims who were released aren't likely to either.
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