A federal appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit incriminating two US military contractors of torturing inmates at the notorious Abu Ghraib detention facility in Iraq.
13 Eylül 2009 Pazar 17:16
The three-member legal body announced its ruling against the former Abu Ghraib detainees on Friday, who had in their quest for compensation, filed a lawsuit against the American defense contractors Titan and CACI International in 2004.
In its 2-1 vote favoring the security services companies, the court rejected the prisoners' claims of torture by the firms.
"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 court said.
The panel of federal judges stopped short of identifying the activities of the security firms as liabilities that could implicate the contractors.
"We think the following formulation better secures the federal interests concerned: During wartime, where a private service contractor is integrated into combatant activities over which the military retains command authority, a tort claim arising out of the contractor's engagement in such activities shall be preempted," wrote the majority voter Judge Laurence Silberman.
Under military contracts with the previous US administration presided by George W. Bush, Titan provided interpreters at Abu Ghraib correctional center in the Iraqi capital Baghdad while CACI supplied interrogators.
Abu Ghraib prison earned its notoriety for torture and abuses and was subsequently shut down after a number of photos of US service members engaging in 'wrongful' acts against the captives became public.
The three-member legal body announced its ruling against the former Abu Ghraib detainees on Friday, who had in their quest for compensation, filed a lawsuit against the American defense contractors Titan and CACI International in 2004. 
