WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of U.S. pilots tortured in the first Gulf War by Iraqis has hit an unexpected obstacle in its legal fight for compensation: Bush administration lawyers argue Iraq is no longer a pariah and should not be forced to pay.
The 17 pilots, some of whom are serving in Iraq, have asked the Supreme Court to take their case in the hope it will reinstate a 2003 ruling in their favor, which was overturned by an appeals court after the Justice Department intervened.
In a bitter twist, some of the ex-prisoners of war were tortured at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad -- the same facility where U.S. soldiers abused Iraqi prisoners after President Saddam Hussein was ousted in 2003.
Retired Air Force Col. David Eberly, one of the plaintiffs, said on Tuesday it was a "mystery" why the Justice Department was fighting their case and pointed to the irony that the United States might end up compensating Iraqi prisoners abused at Abu Ghraib but not its own who suffered under Saddam.
"Our case is not based on getting U.S. funds but Iraqi funds. We feel the case that was made and the judgment awarded was based clearly on U.S. law and should not have been appealed," said Eberly.
The U.S. District Court in Washington ruled in the pilots' favor on July 7, 2003, and awarded $653 million in compensatory damages and $306 million in punitive damages for the abuse, which included mock executions, floggings, starvation and denial of medical treatment.
Я же говорил, что они ничего не получат.
MaxSt.