A federal jury on Tuesday ordered a U.S. defense contractor to pay $42 million in damages to three Iraqi men tortured at Abu Ghraib prison, their lawyers said.

The Center for Constitutional Rights said CACI Premier Technology Inc. was found liable at the end of a long-running lawsuit for its role in the torture of three men at the notorious prison in 2003 and 2004.

In the statement made by the center, it was stated that secondary school principal Suhail Al Shimari, fruit seller Asa’ad Zuba’e and journalist Salah Al-Ejaili were each paid 14 million dollars in compensation.

The three men filed a lawsuit against CACI, a private company based in Arlington, Virginia, in 2008.

Abu Ghraib prison, west of Baghdad, has become a powerful negative symbol of the US occupation of Iraq after evidence emerged that American soldiers at the facility mistreated detainees.

According to the lawsuit, most of the abuse occurred in late 2003, when CACI employees were working at the prison.

The company’s civilian employees were accused of encouraging U.S. soldiers to abuse prisoners to prepare them for interrogation.

Criminal charges were filed against 11 low-ranking guards, including former army reservist Lynndie England, who was seen smiling in photos as she posed next to naked prisoners.

The lawsuit against CACI was filed under a section of U.S. Code called the Alien Torts Act, which allows U.S. citizens to sue in U.S. courts for human rights violations related to events that occur outside the United States.

CACI claimed that many of the alleged abuses were approved by then-US defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld and were included in the rules of engagement of prison military commanders.

“Today is a great day for me and for justice,” Al-Ejaili said in a statement. he said.

“This victory is a shining light for all those who are oppressed and a strong warning to any company or contractor that practices different forms of torture and abuse.”

Katherine Gallagher, an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights, welcomed the jury’s verdict, saying it “clearly demonstrates CACI’s role in this shameful part of our history.”

“Private military and security contractors are warned that they can and will be held accountable when they violate the most basic international law protections, such as the prohibition on torture,” Gallagher said. he said.

“For 20 years, CACI has refused to take responsibility for its role in torture at Abu Ghraib.”

cl/nro