The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has reversed a lower level court’s ruling that CACI International must face a lawsuit regarding alleged abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

By Karl Dowling

CACI International supplied interrogators to the prison, but on September 15th, the court ruled that they should be immune from prosecution as they were under the authority of the US military. According to the court, “allowance of such suits will surely hamper military flexibility and cost-effectiveness, as contractors may prove reluctant to expose their employees to litigation-prone combat situations.”

The judgement comes as a great relief to CACI Chief Executive Officer Paul Cofoni who said on the company website: “No CACI personnel appeared in any of the notorious photographs at Abu Ghraib.” He added, “we have said from day one that these lawsuits are completely without merit and [this] ruling vindicates that position.”

Susan L. Burke, attorney for the Abu Ghraib detainees, told The Washington Post, “although we are disappointed, this is an anticipated setback in what will continue to be an ongoing battle against torture.”

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