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ACLU Wins Release of Abu Ghraib Abuse Photos

By TChris, Section Court Decisions
Posted on Thu Sep 29, 2005 at 12:10:17 PM EST
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by TChris

The Bush administration's effort to suppress disturbing images of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib has been rejected (once again) by Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who ruled in favor of the ACLU's request for disclosure of the photographs and videos. Freedom of information trumped the government's claim that the nation's image would be tarnished, and that terrorism would be fueled, if the pictures were made public.

[I]n his 50-page ruling, the judge said: "My task is not to defer to our worst fears, but to interpret and apply the law, in this case, the Freedom of Information Act, which advances values important to our society, transparency and accountability in government.

"Our struggle to prevail must be without sacrificing the transparency and accountability of government and military officials," he added.

Judge Hellerstein said America "does not surrender to blackmail, and fear of blackmail is not a legally sufficient argument to prevent us from performing a statutory command.

"Indeed, the freedoms that we champion are as important to our success in Iraq and Afghanistan as the guns and missiles with which our troops are armed."

The government is likely to appeal, if only to seek delay in disclosing the materials. TalkLeft background on the case is here and here. A statement from the Center for Constitutional Rights (which joined the ACLU in this litigation) is here.

Update (TL): The ACLU has issued this press release today on the decision.

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    ACLU Wins Release of Abu Ghraib Abuse Photos | 8 comments (8 topical)
    Re: ACLU Wins Release of Abu Ghraib Abuse Photos (none / 0) (#1)
    by Quaker in a Basement on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:29 PM EST
    Shorter Hellerstein: When we let our own government act in secret, the terrorists have won.

    Re: ACLU Wins Release of Abu Ghraib Abuse Photos (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:29 PM EST
    Another American judge speaks out against the Leninist Bushie elite and their SECRECY and treason to American values. We're old enough to see the photos in 'Uncle' Don's bureau drawer. Although I think Don Rumsfeld should be held in a tank of blood up to this shoulders.

    Re: ACLU Wins Release of Abu Ghraib Abuse Photos (none / 0) (#3)
    by scarshapedstar on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:30 PM EST
    Another American judge speaks out against the Leninist Bushie elite and their SECRECY and treason to American values.
    One man's secrecy and treason is another man's Freedom (tm)!

    Re: ACLU Wins Release of Abu Ghraib Abuse Photos (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:30 PM EST
    Well, it's far from certain that these wonderful photos will be released at all, let alone in a manner that could in any way be deemed timely. Why? Because they document system-wide war crimes - and lots of'em. HELLO! They are the visual equivalent of ripping the Geneva Convention into shreds and then taking a big, nasty dump on it. And can you imagine what the videos must purport to show!!!??? It's as if The Bush League sent a Hollywood production company into Iraq to make the best Taliban Recruitment Videos possible. Didn't have reason enough to attack us before? Well, you sure as hell do NOW!!!!! Even this judge sees where this case is headed - the Supreme Court. And with the people who gave us the travesty of Bush v. Gore likely moving further to the right, would it be any surprise to see yet another "one time only" decision whereby these photos never ever see the light of day? Remember folks, this administration PROMISED us that all such photos would be released - if they existed. Predictably, they've broken said promise and hoped that the MSM wouldn't notice yet another broken promise in a long line of broken promises. I'm betting that ALL of the subject photos will NOT be released. I also suspect that MANY will inexplicably disappear. And I strongly suspect that the Army has a new policy on the vetting of such photos before they hit the homefront (there's already a storm brewing over the gory photos on that porn site noted on this site a few days previously; I can't find the site to link it here, sorry). After all, we can't let America realize that it's not just a few bad apples but, instead, a few bad orchards.

    Re: ACLU Wins Release of Abu Ghraib Abuse Photos (none / 0) (#5)
    by squeaky on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:31 PM EST
    Helena Cobbain discusses the non-contradiction of wanting to condem the NTFU site and the gory soldier submitted porn there, while at the same time applauding the ACLU for winning a FOIA release of some of the same photos.
    No, I don't think there is a disconnect. The context and intention of the act of making these images public is extremely important; and they are very different in each of these cases. As a member of the US citizenry, I certainly want to be informed, in a responsible way, of the end-product of what it is that my taxes have been "buying", in terms of the behavior of US soldiers during the war in Iraq. What I don't want is that my taxes should support the ability of individual soldiers or groups of soldiers to engage in the "trophy-displaying" publication of images of the desaerated remains of Iraqis or Afghanis on commercial websites. (And especially, I would say, on commercial porn websites.)
    Just World News

    Re: ACLU Wins Release of Abu Ghraib Abuse Photos (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:31 PM EST
    "One man's secrecy and treason is another man's Freedom™!" One man's freedom is the definition of autocracy. These Xoncerned Xitizens Xouncil dictators want to take the 'freed' out of 'freedom,' and the governing out of government, so their fellow Xuxlos can steal everything down to the bathroom fixtures, while they scapegoat anyone they don't like. There's nothing American Republic about a fascist elite. There is something very Confederate about it. I thought we won that war.

    Re: ACLU Wins Release of Abu Ghraib Abuse Photos (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:31 PM EST
    "Remember folks, this administration PROMISED us that all such photos would be released" They WANTED them released -- just not domestically. These trophy photos were meant to circulate privately among the sadist/racist rightwing billionaires as a kind of porn for THEM. We were never supposed to see them, while the whole world was slapped in the face by them. It's another of their double-edged strategies. Exposure of these photos domestically is VERY important, because a WAR CRIMES trial is pending, on the very-potential collapse of the Bush gov't.

    Re: ACLU Wins Release of Abu Ghraib Abuse Photos (none / 0) (#8)
    by john horse on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:33 PM EST
    Any chance that this war was winnable disappeared with the publication of the original Abu Ghraib photos. Lets not forget that according to what Coalition military intelligence officers told the International Red Cross, between 70 and 90 percent of Iraqis had been arrested and detained by mistake.

    ACLU Wins Release of Abu Ghraib Abuse Photos | 8 comments (8 topical)