A judge has ordered jurors to keep deliberating after they said they were deadlocked in a lawsuit alleging a Virginia-based military contractor is liable for abuse suffered by inmates at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq two decades ago.
The eight-person civil jury has deliberated for the equivalent of three full days in the civil suit in the US District Court in Alexandria.
The trial, which began April 15, is the first time a US jury has heard claims of mistreatment brought by survivors of Abu Ghraib.
Suhail Al Shimari, Asa'ad Zuba’e and Salah Al Ejaili, who were released without charge from Abu Ghraib in 2004, are seeking punitive damages from CACI Premier Technology.
Contractors employed by CACI are accused of torturing and abusing the men during their detention.
CACI supplied civilian contractors to work at Abu Ghraib as interrogators, in support of short-handed US soldiers.
Abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib became a worldwide scandal 20 years ago when photos became public showing US soldiers smiling and laughing as they inflicted physical abuse on detainees.
The plaintiffs have argued at trial that CACI interrogators contributed to their mistreatment, even if they did not commit the abuses themselves, by conspiring with soldiers to mistreat inmates as a way to “soften them up” for questioning.
This suit was filed under the Alien Tort Statute, which gives federal courts jurisdiction over lawsuits filed by foreign citizens for acts committed in breach of international law.
On Friday, the jury sent out a note saying that they had extensively discussed the evidence but “are still not unanimous on anything”.
As is typical when a jury sends out such a note, US District Judge Leonie Brinkema told the jurors they must continue their deliberations.
Ms Brinkema sent them home early on Friday afternoon to resume deliberating on Monday.
During deliberations this week, the jury asked several questions about how to apply a legal principle known as the “borrowed servants” doctrine.
CACI, as one of its defences, has said it should not be liable for any misdeeds by its employees if they were under the control and direction of the army.
The plaintiffs' lawyers tried to bar CACI from making that argument at trial, but Ms Brinkema allowed the jury to consider it.
Both sides have argued about the scope of the doctrine.
Fundamentally, though, if CACI has proven that its interrogators were under the command and control of the army at the time any misconduct occurred, then the jury has been instructed to find in favour of CACI.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs introduced evidence including CACI’s contract with the army, which required the company to supervise its own employees.
Jurors also saw a section of the Army Field Manual that pertains to contractors and says that “only contractors may supervise and give direction to their employees”.
“This case is part of our effort to bring accountability for torture and other serious violations of international law arising out of the so-called war on terror and invasion of Iraq,” the Centre for Constitutional Rights, whose legal team is representing the Iraqi plaintiffs, said in a statement before the trial was due to begin.
“Our clients are Iraqi civilians who were ultimately released without ever being charged with a crime.
“They all continue to suffer from physical and mental injuries caused by the torture and other abuse they endured.”
PFA Team of the Year: David de Gea, Kyle Walker, Jan Vertonghen, Nicolas Otamendi, Marcos Alonso, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah, Sergio Aguero
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
How it works
Each player begins with one of the great empires of history, from Julius Caesar's Rome to Ramses of Egypt, spread over Europe and the Middle East.
Round by round, the player expands their empire. The more land they have, the more money they can take from their coffers for each go.
As unruled land and soldiers are acquired, players must feed them. When a player comes up against land held by another army, they can choose to battle for supremacy.
A dice-based battle system is used and players can get the edge on their enemy with by deploying a renowned hero on the battlefield.
Players that lose battles and land will find their coffers dwindle and troops go hungry. The end goal? Global domination of course.
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
More coverage from the Future Forum
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Messi at the Copa America
2007 – lost 3-0 to Brazil in the final
2011 – lost to Uruguay on penalties in the quarter-finals
2015 – lost to Chile on penalties in the final
2016 – lost to Chile on penalties in the final
The specs: 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor
Price, base / as tested Dh220,000 / Dh320,000
Engine 3.5L V6
Transmission 10-speed automatic
Power 421hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 678Nm @ 3,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.1L / 100km
Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
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