Local Firm Named In Abu Ghraib Prison Lawsuit

SAN DIEGO -- A San Diego firm and a Los Angeles man were named as defendants in a federal lawsuit filed Monday in Los Angeles on behalf of an Iraqi man who alleges he was tortured at the Abu Ghraib prison, the man's lawyers announced.

Emad Al-Janabi, a 43-year-old blacksmith, filed the action against Steven Stefanowicz and three business entities: Arlington, Va.-based defense contractor CACI International Inc., its subsidiary, CACI Premier Technology Inc., and L-3 Communications Titan Corp. of San Diego, according to Philadelphia-based law firm Burke O'Neil.

Stefanowicz is a former CACI contractor known around Abu Ghraib as "Big Steve," Burke O'Neil said. He was linked to abuses at the prison in military court martial proceedings and was said to have directed low-level U.S. military personnel in prisoner interrogations, Burke O'Neil said.

The law firm did not say who allegedly tortured Al-Janabi, nor did it provide details about Stefanowicz's alleged activities at the prison.

Representatives for CACI International and L-3 Communications Titan Corp. were not immediately available for comment.

Abu Ghraib hit the headlines in 2004 when allegations surfaced of physical, sexual and psychological abuse committed by U.S. personnel.

Photographs of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib led to an international outcry and the convictions of several guards assigned to the prison, which is located about 20 miles west of Baghdad.

In his lawsuit, Al-Janabi claims he was beaten and forced from his home in September 2003 by people dressed in U.S. military uniforms and civilian clothing, Burke O'Neil said. He was released from Abu Ghraib without being charged in July 2004, Burke O'Neil said.

The lawsuit alleges violations of federal law, including torture, war crimes and civil conspiracy and it claims that CACI provided interrogators at the prison while L-3 employed all translators used there, Burke O'Neil said.

The lawsuit also claims that Al-Janabi was physically and mentally tortured in sessions in which the defendants acted as interrogators and translators, shown a mock execution of his brother and nephew, hung upside down with his feet chained to a bunk bed until he was unconscious, deprived of food and sleep and threatened with dogs, Burke O'Neil said.

During a surprise inspection of the prison in October 2003, the International Red Cross found Al-Janabi in a cell, naked, chained and bruised, Burke O'Neil said. He was a "ghost detainee" who was hidden from the Red Cross on subsequent inspections and held without appearing on Abu Ghraib's prisoner lists, Burke O'Neil said.

"We want the complete truth about Abu Ghraib to be told," Al-Janabi said in a statement. "The world must know what happened."

Burke O'Neil also claims that a newly published book, "Our Good Name," by CACI Chairman J.P. London, reveals that the company's internal investigation failed to include any interviews of detainees or of a former employee whistleblower.

"Private military contractors can't act with impunity outside the law," said Katherine Gallagher, an attorney Center for Constitutional Rights who is also representing Al-Janabi. "They have to be held accountable for their participation in the atrocities at Abu Ghraib and the other facilities. We believe what they and their employees did clearly violated the Geneva Conventions, the Army Field Manual and the laws of the United States."