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Article

19 Mar 2015

Author:
Nora Bierman, Los Angeles Times (USA)

Accountability gap in USA for counter-terrorism human rights abuses by military contractors is alarming, says law professor

“Few have faced consequences for abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq,” 17 Mar 2015

Photos of Iraqi prisoners tethered to dog leashes and electrical wires dominated the news when they emerged in 2003 and 2004. The abuse scandal centered at the Abu Ghraib prison… But more than a decade on, the images and the calls for accountability have faded…"The gap in liability for the post-9/11 counter-terrorism abuses is actually pretty alarming and pretty broad," said a law professor at Washington's American University…Vladeck says judges have been reluctant to let most cases against military contractors proceed, preventing plaintiffs from using the discovery process to gather more evidence that could directly implicate the contractors. Eleven U.S. soldiers were convicted in military trials of crimes related to the humiliation and abuse of the prisoners. A $5.3-million settlement two years ago with the parent company of L-3 Services Inc…is the only known civil penalty imposed on a private firm…[Also refers to CACI]

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