CCR Annual Report 2005 - Center for Constitutional Rights

CCR v Unconscionable Treatment
Since the release of the Abu Ghraib photographs, evidence of widespread torture and
illegal detention in the name of fighting the war on terror has mounted. From Iraq and
Afghanistan to Guantánamo Bay, the Bush Administration and private military
contractors have consistently ignored international human rights standards. CCR is
fighting to hold torturers accountable in a series of important cases in U.S. courts.
CCR was the first organization to seek restitution for victims of the Bush Administration’s
unlawful torture practices. Shafiq Rasul, Asif Iqbal, Rhuhel Ahmed and Jamal Al-Harith
were held at Guantánamo Bay for two years before they were released without ever
having been charged with a crime. Their incarceration without charge, in horrendous
conditions, and without access to counsel violated the Geneva Conventions, the Alien
Tort Statute, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the U.S. Constitution. CCR
hopes that a punitive damages award against the Bush Administration will put a stop to
these abusive detention policies and bring a small measure of justice to the men and
their families.
Major General Anthony Taguba’s report on the torture and abuse at Abu Ghraib prison
heavily implicated employees of the private military contractors CACI, Inc. and the Titan
Corporation. In June of 2004, CCR filed a corporate accountability lawsuit against the
companies, charging them with conspiring with U.S. officials to humiliate, abuse and
torture people detained in U.S. controlled facilities in Iraq. Since then, CACI and Titan
have stonewalled the proceedings, attempting to move the case from one location to
another to avoid having to account for their actions in Iraq. CCR is working hard to make
sure these private contractors are held accountable.
In a successful federal suit filed in June 2004, CCR, together with the ACLU, Physicians
for Human Rights, Veterans for Common Sense, and Veterans for Peace, charged the
Department of Defense and other government agencies with illegally withholding
records concerning the abuse of detainees in American military custody. As a result,
thousands of pages of documents have been released to the public, increasing pressure
for an independent investigation into U.S. torture practices and detainee abuse. CCR
continues to fight for more documents to be released and for transparency and accountability
all the way up the chain of command.
ABUSE:TORTURE
15