ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A jury could begin deliberations as soon as Thursday on whether a Virginia-based military contractor bears responsibility for the abuse of detainees 20 years ago at Iraq's infamous Abu Ghraib prison. The civil trial underway in U.
S. District Court in Alexandria is the second this year involving allegations against Reston-based CACI, which supplied civilian interrogators to Abu Ghraib in 2003 and 2004 to supplement U.S.
military efforts after the invasion of Iraq. The first trial earlier this year ended in a mistrial with a hung jury that could not agree on whether CACI was liable. The prison abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib shocked the world's conscience two decades ago after photos became public showing naked, abused inmates forced into humiliating poses.
Military police who were seen in the photos smiling and laughing as they directed the abuse were convicted in military courts-martial. But none of the civilian interrogators from CACI ever faced criminal charges, even though military investigations concluded that several CACI interrogators had engaged in wrongdoing. The current lawsuit, filed by three former Abu Ghraib detainees, alleges that CACI interrogators contributed to their mistreatment by conspiring with military police to “soften up” detainees for questioning by subjecting them to abuse that included beatings, sexual abuse, forced nudity and dog attacks.
The trial earlier this year was the first time a U.S. jury heard claims brought by Abu .