Virginia

Abu Ghraib detainee shares emotional testimony during trial against Virginia military contractor

Published

2 years ago

April 15, 2024

Abu Ghraib detainee shares emotional testimony during trial against Virginia military contractor

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A former detainee at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison described to jurors Monday the type of abuse that revives attention on the scandal that erupted there 20 years ago: beatings, being stripped naked and threatened with dogs, stress positions meant to induce exhaustion and pain.

The testimony from Salah Al-Ejaili, a former Al-Jazeera journalist who spent more than a month at Abu Ghraib in 2003, marks the first time that survivors of the U.S. prison in Iraq have been able to bring their claims of torture to a U.S. jury.

Al-Ejaili and two other Abu Ghraib detainees are suing Virginia-based military contractor CACI, accusing the company of contributing to their torture by sending over civilian interrogators as part of an Army contract. The suit cites evidence in government investigations that CACI contractors encouraged military police to “soften up” detainees ahead of their interrogations.

CACI’s lawyer, John O’Connor, acknowledged that some Abu Ghraib detainees suffered horrific abuse, but offered a three-pronged defense for the company in his opening statement to the jury.

First, he questioned whether the three detainees who filed the lawsuit can actually prove they themselves were abused. They are not pictured in the most widely circulated photographs that leaked in 2004 when news of the abuse broke and shocked the world. He told the jury that official records show no formal interrogations of Al-Ejaili, for instance, even though he testified that he was interrogated many times, and frequently beaten at the outset of each interrogation.

The jury received a written declaration from the U.S. government confirming that no formal interrogation records exist, but that declaration also vaguely said that “other information” exists that might show a CACI interrogator questioned Al-Ejaili at one point.

CACI’s lawyer also said that even if the three plaintiffs were abused, there’s no evidence that CACI interrogators inflicted abuse on them. He said the soldiers seen smiling in photos next to naked, abused detainees were the ones who inflicted the abuse, and they were rightly convicted of crimes in military trials long ago.

“They were MPs who were sadistic, who did it on their own, and without any encouragement,” O’Connor said, of the range in military police.

Lastly, he said that even if CACI employees engaged in wrongdoing, it was the U.S. military, not the company, that oversaw the interrogators’ conduct. He rejected the notion that CACI civilians decided on their own to abuse detainees.

“The Army is pretty jealous about who has control of operations in a war zone,” he argued.

The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Baher Azmy, said it’s irrelevant whether CACI interrogators directly inflicted abuse on his clients. The company is liable, he said, because CACI interrogators conspired with military police by urging them to abuse detainees before questioning.

He said the jury will hear from two Army generals, Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba and Maj. Gen. George Fay, who concluded from an investigation that there was a void in the chain of command that was filled by civilians. Taguba’s report concluded that at least one CACI interrogator should be held accountable for instructing military police to set up conditions that amounted to physical abuse.

“This case is about one of the most disturbing and shameful events in recent American history,” Azmy said at the outset of his opening statement.

The trial at U.S. District Court in Alexandria, which was delayed for more than 15 years amid legal wrangling and multiple appeals, is now moving at a breakneck pace. On Monday alone, a jury was seated, opening arguments were heard, and three key witnesses testified, including Al-Ejaili; a former CACI interrogator, Torin Nelson, who testified about his concerns about the actions of some of his colleagues; and former Army Cpl. Charles Graner, one of the military police who was tried and convicted in courts-martial for abusing detainees.

Nelson testified that the other interrogators lacked experience, and he was dismayed when he saw unprofessional comments on their reports, like an interrogator who noted in one report that a detainee “is crying like a little baby in the corner.”

On cross-examination, he said that he had not witnessed physical abuse by any CACI interrogator.

“I had concerns but I wasn’t witnessing anything with my own eyes,” Nelson said.

Graner’s testimony came in the form of a recorded 2013 video deposition that was played to the jury in which he said civilian interrogators gave him instructions on how to handle detainees, and told him he was doing a good job.

Al-Ejaili’s testimony was emotional and he choked up several times as he described the abuse. He recalled that he was naked in a cold cell and asked a female soldier if he could have something to wear. She returned with red women’s underwear.

On another occasion, investigators handcuffed his hands to a pipe while his feet dangled. He told the jury, through an Arabic interpreter, that it felt “as if your shoulders are being pulled from their place.”

He said being able to tell his story now to a jury, even 20 years later, was important to him.

“It’s a big opportunity to tell people my story,” he said. “Perhaps it’s like a form of treatment or a remedy.”

Source link

Related Topics:109270131 article crime Featured General news Juries lawsuits Politics prisons Trials U.S. News®world news

Click to comment

Virginia

Stanford gets win over Virginia Tech, freshman Ebuka Okorie calls game

Published

9 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Stanford gets win over Virginia Tech, freshman Ebuka Okorie calls game

Freshman guard Ebuka Okorie lifted Stanford over Virginia Tech with a game-winning, step-back 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds left to give the Cardinal a 69-68 win at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Virginia, on Jan. 7.

Okorie sized up his defender, Virginia Tech freshman Neoklis Avdalas of Greece, before getting into his sweet spot and rising up.

Okorie scored 31 points, going 11-for-18 from the floor with four 3-pointers, including the go-ahead bucket. His four made from long-distance tied a collegiate career-high. He added six assists and had only one turnover.

Virginia Tech led 31-24 at the end of the first half. However, Stanford came out of the second half and switched gears. The Hokies were outscored in the second half 45-37.

Virginia Tech was led by Avdalas with 21 points. Hokies sophomore guard Ben Hammond scored 14 points off the bench.

Chisom Okpara had an off night for Stanford, scoring just four points on 1-of-11 shooting, but still the Cardinal would get some help in the scoring department from Donavin Young and Oskar Giltay, who chipped in with 11 and eight points, respectively.

Stanford continues its road trip with a visit to No. 23 Virginia on Saturday, Jan. 10. Virginia Tech has a home game Saturday against California.

Stanford vs. Virginia Tech: Ebuka Okorie hits game-winning shot

Source link

Virginia

University named among ‘Top Wedding Vendors’ by Virginia Living magazine

Published

21 hours ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

University named among ‘Top Wedding Vendors’ by Virginia Living magazine

Hopwood & LaRue Catering and Events at the University of Lynchburg has been named a “2026 Top Wedding Vendor” by Virginia Living magazine.

Hopwood & LaRue was listed among Central Virginia vendors in the following categories: Catering, Venue-Event Space, and Venue-Gardens & Estates. For earning a top spot, vendors are listed in the digital “2026 Top Wedding Vendors” guide and receive a virtual badge to share on their website.

According to Virginia Living, the annual list spotlights “vendors who help make Virginia weddings truly unforgettable — from florists and photographers to venues, planners, and more. … This exclusive online list is a companion to ‘Weddings 2026,’ featured in our February issue, one of the year’s most anticipated editorial sections.”

Through Hopwood & LaRue Catering and Events couples can plan weddings at University-owned facilities, including Snidow Chapel and Claytor Nature Center’s Cloverlea Farmhouse.

The company also offers event planning and a full range of beverage and catering services, including vegan, vegetarian, and ethnic options, along with “special curated menus” designed to help clients “develop their ideal cocktail hour and reception dinner experience for themselves and their guests.”

Referring to the 491-acre Claytor Nature Center specifically, Marsh described a typical event: “On their special day, the wedding ceremony typically takes place at the reflection pond, which holds a magical view of Sharp Top and Flat Top mountains,” she said.

“Cocktail hour is then enjoyed [on] the ash lawn, and the reception dinner is later paired with desserts, drinks, and dancing under our extra-large, tented reception area. And the sunset views are just as exceptional as the dining experience.”

According to Marsh, Hopwood & LaRue’s wedding sales have “increased significantly in the past year, and our Cloverlea wedding bookings have quadrupled since 2025. We now have over a dozen weddings and events lined up at Cloverlea for 2026 and are excited to book more and also look ahead into 2027.”

Source link

Virginia

Instant takeaways from Cincinnati Bearcats basketball loss at WVU

Published

1 day ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

Instant takeaways from Cincinnati Bearcats basketball loss at WVU

The Cincinnati Bearcats lost to the West Virginia Mountaineers 62-60, dropping to 0-2 in Big 12 play.

MORGANTOWN, WV – The Cincinnati Bearcats have started Big 12 play in a hole, losing to West Virginia on the road Tuesday night, Jan. 6, 62-60. UC came back from a 13-point deficit in the first half, had a late lead, but for a second straight Big 12 game couldn’t close.

Up 57-52 with 4:46 to go on a Moustapha Thiam dunk, the Bearcats wouldn’t score again until a Jizzle James 3-pointer with three ticks left on the clock. They would get a final steal and a desperation heave that didn’t fall, and now are winless in two Big 12 starts with 16 remaining on the schedule.

The Mountaineers have recorded all of their wins at Hope Coliseum and are 10-5 (1-1) while UC drops to 8-7 (0-2). Hope Coliseum attendance was 9,903.

Honor Huff led West Virginia with 24 points and, at 5-foot-10, pulled down eight rebounds. Chance Moore added 14 points and Treysen Eaglestaff had 10, including the go-ahead 3-point heave with 1:12 left in the game.

“We’ve got to finish, we had a five-point lead there,” Miller said. “The shot Eaglestaff hits, you’ve just got to go play the next possession. You can’t defend it any better than that. You can’t foul the 3-point shooter (Huff) and we’ve got to step up and make some plays. We’ve got to convert more plays. Sometimes, guys are going to jump up and make a crazy shot. That’s just basketball.”

It’s the first loss this season for the Bearcats when they’ve led with two minutes remaining in the game. Last season, they were 19-0 in such situations, and overall, Wes Miller’s teams are now 88-8. But, on this night, Eaglestaff was “eagle eye” avoiding a shot-clock violation and nailing a “prayer” in Miller’s terms.

“I picked it up and was looking for Honor (Huff) because he was the hot hand,” Eaglestaff said. “I’m looking for him and I heard ‘3-2-1, I’ve got one second left, I’ve got to throw it up!’ I’m like praying, ‘Please go in!’”

As called by a couple of coaches as he released it, it tickled the nylons and gave West Virginia the lead for good.

Jalen Celestine led UC with five treys and 15 points. Day Day Thomas had nine points, making a pair of second-half 3s early to give UC a brief lead early in the second half, but didn’t score over the final 18:30.

The Bearcats were 12-of 35 from the arc, with West Virginia making 11-of-23. West Virginia takes a 14-12 lead in the all-time series and has now won eight of the last 10 meetings. In the Big 12, the Mountaineers are now 4-2 against the Bearcats and have won the last three contests.

“When you win a game like that, you feel really fortunate,” West Virginia coach Ross Hodge said. “A lot of things had to go right in the last four-minute stretch. They had a belief that they could still win the game, not necessarily knowing how we were going to win it, but just our belief that we could still win it.”

Buy Cincinnati Bearcats tickets

UC’s Wes Miller: Us against world

Miller made the comment on his post-game radio show with Dan Hoard and Terry Nelson. When asked in the post-game media conference, he clarified.

“I think our locker room has to have that mentality,” Miller said. “The noise is loud and people are going to doubt and everybody’s going to be against us. If we’d have won the last two games it wouldn’t be that way. Sometimes you have to recognize that’s fickle. We have to just make sure we stay tight and resilient as a team and we will. We’re right there very night against really good teams. We’ve just got to keep pounding the rock. It’ll crack.”

Top scorer Jalen Celestine, UC’s second-oldest next to Kerr Kriisa, agreed.

“We’re only two games in the Big 12,” Celestine said. “We’ve got a lot of basketball left.”

Tyler McKinley, Kerr Kriisa injury updates

Kerr Kriisa was greeting West Virginia friends in sweats before the game and did not play. He was officially listed “out” on the Big 12 game day injury report. Kriisa was recruited by Bob Huggins and played for the Mountaineers in 2023-24, including three games against UC.

As for Kriisa’s next availability, Miller said it was “day to day”.

Tyler McKinley practiced in Morgantown on Monday and was available for Tuesday’s game. Still, Halvine Dzellat was the first post player off the bench.

“I thought he looked good tonight,” Miller said. “I thought that was the best he’s looked. Yesterday (Jan. 5) was the first time he’s practiced since the day before the Georgia game (Dec. 13). It feels like ages ago. He looked good and felt good.”

McKinley finally came in at 8:57 of the first half and 47 seconds scored his first points since the Xavier game. Before halftime, he made a putback that cut the West Virginia lead to three points at the break. He finished with six points, making all three of his shots in just under nine minutes on the court.

West Virginia’s Brenen Lorient, a 6-foot-9 forward, didn’t play vs. No. 3 Iowa State, but returned against the Bearcats.

Cincinnati Bearcats dig early hole

Treysen Eaglestaff had the first five points of the game for West Virginia. UC got it to 10-6 less than five minutes in on a turnaround jumper by Thiam, then they would score for nearly four and a half minutes. West Virginia’s biggest lead was 19-6.

Within six minutes, UC was able to whittle it down to 25-24, as the crowd let out a handful of boos. McKinley’s putback before half cut the deficit to three at 31-28.

The Bearcats came back to lead early in the half, and again late in the game with an 11-0 run that flipped the script from 52-46 WVU to 55-52 UC with a timeout at 3:49. The lead would go to 57-52 before the Bearcats went cold once again.

Honor Huff hoists

The 5-foot-10 transfer from Chattanooga was hot early in the half, making his first five shots before finishing the stanza 5-for-9 with 16 points. The Bearcats were more effective with him in the second half. But late, Huff delivered with his final 3-pointer and a pair of clutch free throws. He was 6-for-10 from the arc, but was most impressed with his eight rebounds among UC’s towers.

“That’s good for me, eight rebounds,” Huff said. “I’m going to have to help no matter what my size is. I put emphasis on putting myself in the right positions to grab rebounds.”

Baba Miller, 13 inches taller than Huff at minimum, led UC with seven rebounds. West Virginia beat the Bearcats on the boards 37-33.

10 Bearcats played before halftime

Down 13 with some of the starters cold, Wes Miller played 10 guys in the first half, including McKinley’s first minutes since the Georgia game.

“Kerr’s injury has been difficult,” Miller said. “We were starting to find real rhythm with older players. Kerr goes down and that’s difficult, but we have some young guys that are ready to contribute.”

Miller mentioned Keyshuan Tillery, who played almost nine minutes and hit a big 3-pointer and Shon Abaev (four points in less than 12 minutes), making key plays in the second half.

“He’s been waiting to break out,” Miller said. “It’s coming.”

Cincinnati Bearcats injuries have been critical

“It’s been something like I’ve never experienced, because it’s been so inconsistent,” Miller said. “Jalen Celestine with the back, we’re getting him where he can practice. T-Mac (McKinley) has been up and down. Kerr now, Jalen Haynes (transfer big man still out). It’s felt like one thing after another. It’s been hard to figure out and Jizzle wasn’t with us. There’s been quite a lot to deal with in terms of roster consistency. It hasn’t been the easiest month, but good things are ahead for us.”

Cincinnati Bearcats Big 12 schedule

The Bearcats are back on the road in Orlando, where Moustapha Thiam returns to face his old UCF team on Sunday at 5 p.m. on ESPN2. The Knights played in Stillwater against Oklahoma State Tuesday night, Jan. 6. The Bearcats return to Fifth Third Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 14 vs. Colorado at 7 p.m.

Source link