'Scapegoat' Charles Graner Plans Appeal, Centers on Torture Memos

From the Washington Post:

Now, the recent release of Justice Department memos authorizing the use of harsh interrogation techniques has given Graner and other soldiers new reason to argue that they were made scapegoats for policies approved at high levels. They also contend that the government's refusal to acknowledge those polices when Graner and others were tried undermined their legal defenses

Graner remains locked up at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., about halfway through a 10-year prison sentence for detainee abuse, assault and dereliction of duty. His lawyer said this week that he is drafting appeals arguments centered largely on the revelations in the memos and a newly released congressional investigation into the interrogation practices

...Charles Gittins, a Virginia lawyer who represents Graner, said he has been fuming since reading the memos. He said he has long believed that there was no way Graner and the other Army Reservists invented techniques such as stress positions, leashing and the use of dogs, and he says the documents confirmed his suspicions.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Iraqis' Civil Action Against Abu Ghraib Contractors May Proceed: U.S. District Judge

Washington Post reports on a decision by U.S. District Judge James Robertson, permitting Iraqi citizens to proceed with a civil lawsuit against US military contractor, CACI International.

In the suit, the Plaintifffs, who were held in Abu Ghraib prison, allege "abuse and torture" by the American contractor, which conducted "enhanced" interrogations at the prison.

The contractor had asked that the court dimiss the case:

A federal judge in Washington ruled yesterday that a civil lawsuit alleging abuse and torture at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq can go forward against a U.S. military contractor, setting the stage for what could be the first case in a U.S. civilian court to weigh accountability for the notorious abuses in 2003.

U.S. District Judge James Robertson denied CACI International's motion to dismiss a civil lawsuit on behalf of more than 200 Iraqis who at one time were detained at the Abu Ghraib prison. The Iraqis allege that the contracted CACI interrogators took part in abuses and that the company should be held liable for the harm inflicted on the detainees.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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