we're sorry... but we seem to have misplaced them Tomorrow, so don't bother to call us, we'll call you... when we find them again that is!!! oh, by the way... it depends on what the meaning of the word IS is toooo!!!
Posted on 05/26/2005 6:45:33 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
NEW YORK (AP) - A federal judge has told the government it will have to release additional pictures of detainee abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, civil rights lawyers said.
Judge Alvin Hellerstein, finding the public has a right to see the pictures, told the government Thursday he will sign an order requiring it to release them to the American Civil Liberties Union, the lawyers said.
The judge made the decision after he and government attorneys privately viewed a sampling of nine pictures resulting from an Army probe into abuse and torture at the prison. The pictures were given to the Army by a military policeman assigned there.
ACLU lawyer Megan Lewis told the judge she believes the government has pictures of abuse beyond the Abu Ghraib images that sparked outrage around the world after they were leaked to the media last year.
Some of the thousands of pages of documents the government has released to the ACLU seem to refer to such images, and the government has not denied that additional photos exist, she said.
The judge decided some pictures from Abu Graib could be released to comply with the Freedom of Information Act while others must be redacted or were not relevant to the ACLU's request, Lewis said.
She said the judge's findings likely would clear the way for the release of other pictures of detainees taken around the world by U.S. authorities.
"I do think they could be extremely upsetting and depict conduct that would outrage the American public and be truly horrifying," she said outside court.
The judge ordered the transcript of comments made during his viewing of the pictures sealed. He did not disclose his findings in court, but said his order "will lead to production (of the pictures) or further proceedings."
"Further proceedings" presumably referred to possible appeals by government lawyers, who declined to comment as they left the hearing. A message left with a government spokeswoman was not immediately returned.
Before viewing the pictures, the judge said in court that he thought "photographs present a different level of detail and are the best evidence the public can have of what occurred."
Government lawyer Sean Lane argued that releasing pictures, even if faces and other features are obscured, would violate Geneva Convention rules on prisoner treatment by subjecting detainees to additional humiliation or embarrassment. He said the emotional wounds would be reopened because detainees could identify themselves and because the public would learn their identities.
The judge, however, said, "I don't believe with suitable redaction there is an unwarranted invasion of privacy." He also said he didn't think it was likely that detainees in redacted photos would be able to be identified.
The judge's decision stems from a lawsuit the ACLU filed in October 2003 seeking information on treatment of detainees in U.S. custody and the transfer of prisoners to countries known to use torture. The ACLU contends that prisoner abuse is systemic.
So far, 36,000 pages of documents and the reports of 130 investigations, mostly from the FBI and Army, have been turned over to the ACLU. The group is seeking documents from the CIA and the Defense Department as well.
we're sorry... but we seem to have misplaced them Tomorrow, so don't bother to call us, we'll call you... when we find them again that is!!! Another example of why there should be no compromises on judicial appointments.
Those photos are kept in the same place as the law firm billing records and the missing FBI files.
Bush doesn't have to comply.
Don't be surprised if he does.
Is the public entitled to see everything that may "outrage" and "horrify" us? And why do I detect a sick, perverted smirk on her face while she says this? What the f___ is wrong with these people? What public purpose would be served by releasing these photos?
Judge Alvin Hellerstein, finding the public has a right to see the pictures
Maybe we could see the Vince Foster Polaroids, too.
They're only doing this (releasing the photos) for one reason - they want to impeach Bush over it.
as if...
This is designed exclusively to whip up international outcry and
turn Americans against GWB and the war. The public knows there were instances of abuse, but with these pics will come the insinuation that the abuse was both widespread and common.
We are at war. The media and the ACLU do not have a need to know every detail and be present for every little thing. This is part and parcel of Amnesty Int. trying to bring charges against GWB, Rumsfeld and who knows who else.
vaudine
That would make them a legitimate target (even if they weren't already).
I guess we'll have something to look forward the last 2 years of the Bush administration which is effectively turning itself into a lame duque one with a little help from its bipartisan friends., huh?
How Clintonesque.. lol
Sedition and treason........what happened to these? Tell me why they stopped prosecuting those that aided and abetted our enemies?
Solution 1. Sit on photos as a matter of national security in time of war. Simple.
Solution 2. Take no prisoners in future conflicts.
Solution 3. Since "torture" now equals panties on the head, arrest majority of ACLU leadership for sodomy and torture of their homo boyfriends. Also - arrest editor of NYTimes for printing offensive material - torture photos would be obscene by definition -
Divas Husband
They have nothing on him.
Personally. I think the prison photos are nothing compared to the American beheadings, and I think most Americans feel the same way.
The liberal press has been pushing this story for years, and the only people who care are the far left wing kooks! There is no public outrage.
Similar to what Golda Meir said about the Palestinians hating Israel more than they loved their own children... many on the Left hate the Bush administration more than they love their own country.
That has become clear over the last couple of years. I'm not saying this as a rabid right-winger. I am a former liberal Democrat. Still liberal in many ways. But I can no longer abide the anti-Americanism of many on the Left. And unfortunately many otherwise sane left-wing Democrats have allowed their anti-Republicanism or anti-Bushism to morph into anti-Americanism. They would harm this country and harm our soldiers for the sake of scoring a partisan political point. It thoroughly disgusts me.
The sad thing is that camps are ready to house the ingrates that foist these travesties on us daily, but this is a different kind of war we wage, not like FDR's great one, eh?
A New Tone rings thru this land, yaknow.
I , for one, am sick of the cost to all our freedoms and epescially the price paid by those who fought and died, and continue to fight and die for this nation.
The American civil liberties union feels compelled to defend foreign enemy combatants against Americans...Why can't someone tell these traitors to stuff it...
Amen. My son, a Marine.....served for 8yrs.... my Dad for 26yrs, Grandpa in WWI....etc. I'm outraged that these jerks put our country and our military in much more danger, just to further a socialist agenda. The freedoms they enjoy cost our families/ancestors a great price.....and they flaunt it as if it means nothing. I say....take a couple of these weenies... bring them up on charges.....and watch the rest of the roaches run for cover.
He doesn't care, and that's what our real problem is. I'm thinking that very few judges can be found harboring a robust sense of nationalism.
Although, I've often wondered if bill clinton were executing the current strategy in Iraq, how things might be different, from both the left and right's perspective.
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