Mar. 24, 2005 – A group of Navy SEALs is claiming its members? lives have been endangered by the publication of photos that show them posing with Iraqi detainees who appeared beaten and bloodied. Five SEALs and the wife of one -- who initially posted the pictures, taken by her husband, on a photo-sharing web site -- are suing the Associated Press for publishing some of the photos after one of its San-Diego-based reporters discovered them while surfing the Internet.
According to Reuters, the suit claims that the AP reporter took the photos from a "private album" without permission and that publication of the images constitutes an invasion of privacy and copyright infringement as well as endangering the lives and careers of the SEALs.
Commenting on the lawsuit, an attorney for the AP said, "The pictures are of obvious public interest. AP obtained them in a completely proper way and was right to publish them."
An attorney representing the SEALs said the photos did not depict evidence of illegal detainee abuse. "These were normal special [operations] where they captured people who were resisting -- and that sometimes results in people getting bloody lips," he said.
