The brief states that the defendant, U.S.-based Titan Corporation, is bound by U.S. and international law providing liability of non-state actors for torture.
On 11 September 2008, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), torture victim advocacy groups and other international human rights organizations, international law and human rights professors, co-signed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief filed before the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals in the Saleh v. Titan case, in support of Iraqis tortured by American contractors. The brief was initiated by the University of Virginia School of Law and the American University, Washington College of Law.
The case was filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights (FIDH member organization in the United States) against American civilian contractors acting as translators, and on behalf of Iraqis who were detained in prisons operated by the United States military during 2003 and 2004. All plaintiffs were victims of serious abuse, which included: rape and threats of rape and other forms of sexual assault; repeated beatings, including with chains, boots and other objects; being detained in isolation; being urinated on and otherwise humiliated; and being prevented from praying and otherwise abiding by their religious practices. A plaintiff had been forced to watch his father being tortured to death. All plaintiffs were released by the military without any charges, convictions, or referrals to Iraqi authorities. The lawsuit charges that the defendants, Titan Corporation’s (now "L-3") employees, directed and participated in the commission of crimes at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, including torture, summary execution, enforced disappearance, and war crimes.
The brief demonstrates that non-state actors, including corporate enterprises, are "liable for violations of the law of nations, specifically torture committed as a war crime." The document further explains, "Individuals who act independent of the state’s authority or direction may also be held accountable for some international law violations." Additionally, the brief calls for an effective remedy for such violations, including when perpetrated by non-state actors, as recognized under international law.
The named plaintiff, Haidar Saleh, is a Swedish citizen who was residing in Michigan at the time the suit was filed. Mr. Saleh was first imprisoned and tortured under Saddam Hussein in the Abu Ghraib prison for opposing the Ba’ath Party. Upon his release, Mr. Saleh fled from Iraq to Sweden. After the Hussein regime fell, in response to the United States’ plea for expatriates to return to Iraq with funds to invest and help rebuild the country, he returned to Iraq in September 2003. Upon his arrival, Mr. Saleh was detained and was again sent to the same Abu Ghraib prison where Saddam Hussein had tortured him.
For more information on the case, see http://www.ccrjustice.org/ourcases/current-cases/saleh-v.-titan.