Aug. 17, 2005 – In a minor victory for civil libertarians seeking the release of photographs and videos depicting the abuse of detainees at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, a judge Monday told the federal government that it must make the full contents of a brief filed late last month public.
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- Pentagon Rejects Order to Release Abu Ghraib Abuse Images (Jul 25, 2005)
- Feds File Secret Brief in Abu Ghraib FOIA Suit (Aug 2, 2005)
The publicly available version of the brief in question is heavily censored. The Department of Justice filed the redacted version in lieu of releasing four videos and 87 photographs said to document some of the worst abuse at the prison.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, which is party to the suit along with the Center for Constitutional Rights and several other organizations, US District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein gave Justice Department lawyers a Thursday deadline to make the legal arguments against releasing the videos and pictures public or appeal the ruling.
In a statement accompanying the government’s July filing, General Richard B. Meyers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, expressed concern that releasing the photos and videos could lead to renewed violence and protests. Additionally, the brief asserted, individual privacy concerns outweigh public interest.
The photos and video in question were taken by Army military officer Joseph M. Darby, the man responsible for revealing what was going on at Abu Ghraib to superiors. According to a number of sources who have reviewed them, the images at issue depict far worse abuse than pictures previously made public, including rape and other sexual crimes.
The ACLU and CCR are joined in the suit by Veterans for Peace, Veterans for Common Sense and Physicians for Human Rights. A collection of media outlets filed a friend-of-the-court brief arguing for the release of the images earlier this month.
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Hellerstein is set to consider the whole case again on August 30, when the court will hear the arguments for and against releasing the evidence of abuse, the ACLU said. Monday’s two hour hearing was closed to the public.
