In a landmark victory for torture victims, U.S. District Court Judge Justin Quackenbush ruled on Friday that a lawsuit against two psychologist CIA contractors who helped design the agency's brutal interrogation program may move forward.

It is the first such case to proceed since before the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

By rejecting a motion to dismiss the civil case, Quackenbush gives the plaintiffs—Tanzanian Suleiman Abdullah Salim, Libyan Mohamed Ahmed Ben Soud, and the family of Afghani Gul Rahman—a chance "to call their torturers to account in court for the first time," said ACLU staff attorney Dror Ladin, who argued in court on Friday. 

Ladin called it "a historic win in the fight to hold the people responsible for torture accountable for their despicable and unlawful actions."