Court Orders CIA to Comply
With Request For Torture Records
ACLU
Contact: media@aclu.org
February 2, 2005
Defense Department Illegally
Withholding Photographs Depicting Abuse, ACLU
Charges
NEW YORK-A federal judge today rejected an attempt by the
Central Intelligence Agency to indefinitely delay the processing
and release of critical documents pertaining to the torture or
abuse of detainees held by the United States government. The
ruling relates to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request
filed more than a year ago by the American Civil Liberties Union
and other organizations.
"The public has a right to information about the CIA's
role in the abuse and torture of detainees," said ACLU attorney
Jameel Jaffer. "We are hopeful that today's order will
encourage the CIA to finally comply with our request for
information."
The FOIA request was filed by the ACLU, the Center for
Constitutional Rights, Physicians for Human Rights, Veterans for
Common Sense and Veterans for Peace. The New York Civil Liberties
Union is co-counsel with the ACLU in the case.
In September, Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein issued an order
requiring all of the government agencies named in the lawsuit to
search and review their files for records responsive to the FOIA
request. However, at a hearing on December 22, the CIA argued
that it did not have to search its operational files. In
today's ruling, Hellerstein found that the CIA "failed to
articulate a viable reason" why the agency's operational
files should be exempt from the September order.
Hellerstein also noted that the CIA's Inspector General
is conducting an investigation into impropriety and possible
criminal activity by CIA personnel in Iraq, and that the CIA has
already searched its operational files in connection with that
investigation.
Thus far, the ACLU and other organizations have received and
disseminated more than 23,000 pages of documents in response to
the lawsuit. The records received from the government agencies,
which include the FBI, Justice Department and State Department,
have shown patterns of widespread abuse of detainees in Iraq,
Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. The documents also show a rift
between government agencies on the use of torture.
In addition to documents, the FOIA request also seeks
videotapes and photographs depicting the treatment of prisoners
at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, and other detention facilities.
However, the Defense Department has so far refused to release
these items. The ACLU and other organizations filed a brief on
January 13 arguing that the Defense Department is withholding
these materials unlawfully, and that any legitimate privacy
interests in withholding the photographs and videotapes can be
accommodated by obscuring the faces of the individuals
depicted.
The Defense Department has asked the court to extend the
deadline for processing remaining documents, which was originally
scheduled for January 31. Attorneys for the organizations will
appear in federal court in New York on February 22 to address
this issue.
The lawsuit is being handled by Lawrence Lustberg and Megan
Lewis of the New Jersey-based law firm Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan,
Griffinger & Vecchione, P.C. Other attorneys in the case are
Jaffer, Amrit Singh, Omar Jadwat and Judy Rabinovitz of the ACLU;
Art Eisenberg and Beth Haroules of the NYCLU; and Barbara
Olshansky and Jeff Fogel of the CCR.
For a copy of today's ruling, go to:
http://www.nysd.uscourts.gov/courtweb/pdf/D02NYSC/05-00652.PDF
More information on the ACLU lawsuit can be found at:
www.aclu.org/torturefoia.
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