WASHINGTON: A US defence contractor accused of helping torture
prisoners at Iraq’s infamous Abu Ghraib prison has paid former detainees
more than $5 million to settle a lawsuit, according to regulatory
filings obtained by AFP on Wednesday.
The plaintiffs, 72 former detainees, alleged that L-3 Services Inc.
(now called Engility Holdings) and others, “either participated in,
approved of, or condoned the mistreatment of prisoners by United States
military officials,” according to the document.
“On October 5, 2012, we and the plaintiffs agreed to resolve and
dismiss the action in return for a payment of $5.28 million,” the
company wrote in its third quarter report to the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
Abu Ghraib prison became infamous after the publication in 2004 of photographs showing Iraqi detainees being humiliated and abused by their US guards in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion.
Abu Ghraib prison became infamous after the publication in 2004 of photographs showing Iraqi detainees being humiliated and abused by their US guards in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion.
The scandal led to the sentencing of 11 soldiers to up to 10 years in prison.
- The majority of the abuse took place at the end of 2003, when CACI and L-3 employees were working in the prison, US military courts have said.The initial complaint was originally filed on May 5, 2008, the company stated, adding that multiple cases were consolidated into a single lawsuit to be heard in federal court in Maryland.
- It said it agreed to settle after first losing a motion to dismiss the complaint in 2010, and an appeal of that decision in 2012.
Source: Agency
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