Emad al-Janabi
Encyclopedia
Emad Khudhayir Shahuth al-Janabi (born c. 1965) was an Iraq
i blacksmith
detained in Abu Ghraib prison
where he alleges he was abused by American military personnel and defense contractors.
, his home was raided at 2:00 a.m. by "persons dressed in American military uniforms and civilian clothing" who beat him and his family. Al-Janabi was told he would face execution with his brother and nephew and was then interned in the Abu Ghraib prison
in Baghdad
. His arrest initially unexplained, Al-Janabi said an interrogating soldier eventually "told me I was a terrorist ... preparing for an attack against the U.S. forces" and he gave forced confessions.
Al-Janabi later described that while detained he was punched, kicked, stripped, chained, hung upside down from a bedframe, kept naked and handcuffed in his cell, and repeatedly deprived of food and sleep. He also claimed to have been threatened with rape, violent death, and execution and witnessed a mock execution of his brother and nephew. He said that after being discovered by the International Committee of the Red Cross
during a surprise inspection in October, he was thereafter hidden with
contractor help from future inspections as a "ghost detainee".
After over 10 months, Al-Janabi was released without charge in July 2004, at which time photographs and reports of abuses and torture in the prison
had become public.
, Turkey in May 2008, Al-Janabi filed suit against U.S. military contractors CACI and L-3 Communications, accusing them of "torture, war crimes and civil conspiracy". CACI had provided interrogators to Abu Ghraib and all interpreters were employees of Titan Corporation. L-3 was named as a defendant since it had acquired Titan in 2005, in an effort to boost its intelligence portfolio.
Al-Janabi was seeking unspecified monetary damages. The complaints allege that the contractors participated in abuse, destroyed evidence, blocked reports to the Red Cross, hid prisoners, and misled government and military officials.
Al-Janabi was represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights
(CCR) which took the case to establish that "Private military contractors can’t act with impunity outside the law" and have "violated the Geneva Conventions, the Army Field Manual, and the laws of the United States". The conservative Capital Research Center
called CCR "the terrorists' legal team" because it had been pushing "to give due process rights to America's terrorist enemies."
Steven Stefanowicz of CACI was specifically named in the case as directing prisoner torture. A statement from a CACI spokesperson denied Al-Janabi's claims, asserting that no CACI employee had been charged with misconduct as an interrogator in Iraq. The case was filed in Los Angeles, where Stefanowicz lived, in the federal district court
, as "Emad Khudhayir Shahuth Al-Janabi v. Steven A. Stefanowicz, et al" (CV 08-02913). After CCR filed four similar cases the next month, CACI responded that these lawsuits were "vexatious" and the CCR's was "politically driven", with "an ongoing 'big lie' propaganda campaign to keep their lawsuits in the public eye and their personal political agendas in the public light."
Similar class-action lawsuits had been filed against the companies in 2004, with the suit against Titan being dismissed. There remains some debate over which legal system, if any, had jurisdiction over American contractors acting oversees.
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
detained in Abu Ghraib prison
Abu Ghraib prison
The Baghdad Central Prison, formerly known as Abu Ghraib prison is in Abu Ghraib, an Iraqi city 32 km west of Baghdad. It was built by British contractors in the 1950s....
where he alleges he was abused by American military personnel and defense contractors.
Imprisonment
Al-Janabi claimed that in the September following the 2003 invasion of Iraq2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
, his home was raided at 2:00 a.m. by "persons dressed in American military uniforms and civilian clothing" who beat him and his family. Al-Janabi was told he would face execution with his brother and nephew and was then interned in the Abu Ghraib prison
Abu Ghraib prison
The Baghdad Central Prison, formerly known as Abu Ghraib prison is in Abu Ghraib, an Iraqi city 32 km west of Baghdad. It was built by British contractors in the 1950s....
in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
. His arrest initially unexplained, Al-Janabi said an interrogating soldier eventually "told me I was a terrorist ... preparing for an attack against the U.S. forces" and he gave forced confessions.
Al-Janabi later described that while detained he was punched, kicked, stripped, chained, hung upside down from a bedframe, kept naked and handcuffed in his cell, and repeatedly deprived of food and sleep. He also claimed to have been threatened with rape, violent death, and execution and witnessed a mock execution of his brother and nephew. He said that after being discovered by the International Committee of the Red Cross
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...
during a surprise inspection in October, he was thereafter hidden with
contractor help from future inspections as a "ghost detainee".
After over 10 months, Al-Janabi was released without charge in July 2004, at which time photographs and reports of abuses and torture in the prison
Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse
Beginning in 2004, human rights violations in the form of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse, including torture, rape, sodomy, and homicide of prisoners held in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq came to public attention...
had become public.
Lawsuit
While in IstanbulIstanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Turkey in May 2008, Al-Janabi filed suit against U.S. military contractors CACI and L-3 Communications, accusing them of "torture, war crimes and civil conspiracy". CACI had provided interrogators to Abu Ghraib and all interpreters were employees of Titan Corporation. L-3 was named as a defendant since it had acquired Titan in 2005, in an effort to boost its intelligence portfolio.
Al-Janabi was seeking unspecified monetary damages. The complaints allege that the contractors participated in abuse, destroyed evidence, blocked reports to the Red Cross, hid prisoners, and misled government and military officials.
Al-Janabi was represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights
Center for Constitutional Rights
Al Odah v. United States:Al Odah is the latest in a series of habeas corpus petitions on behalf of people imprisoned at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. The case challenges the Military Commissions system’s suitability as a habeas corpus substitute and the legality, in general, of detention at...
(CCR) which took the case to establish that "Private military contractors can’t act with impunity outside the law" and have "violated the Geneva Conventions, the Army Field Manual, and the laws of the United States". The conservative Capital Research Center
Capital Research Center
Capital Research Center is a conservative non-profit organization located in Washington, DC. It was founded in 1984 by Willa Johnson "to study non-profit organizations, with a special focus on reviving the American traditions of charity, philanthropy, and voluntarism." The group opposes the growth...
called CCR "the terrorists' legal team" because it had been pushing "to give due process rights to America's terrorist enemies."
Steven Stefanowicz of CACI was specifically named in the case as directing prisoner torture. A statement from a CACI spokesperson denied Al-Janabi's claims, asserting that no CACI employee had been charged with misconduct as an interrogator in Iraq. The case was filed in Los Angeles, where Stefanowicz lived, in the federal district court
United States District Court for the Central District of California
The United States District Court for the Central District of California serves over 18 million people in southern and central California, making it the largest federal judicial district by population...
, as "Emad Khudhayir Shahuth Al-Janabi v. Steven A. Stefanowicz, et al" (CV 08-02913). After CCR filed four similar cases the next month, CACI responded that these lawsuits were "vexatious" and the CCR's was "politically driven", with "an ongoing 'big lie' propaganda campaign to keep their lawsuits in the public eye and their personal political agendas in the public light."
Similar class-action lawsuits had been filed against the companies in 2004, with the suit against Titan being dismissed. There remains some debate over which legal system, if any, had jurisdiction over American contractors acting oversees.