A U.S. District Judge has ruled that the U.S. must release pictures of detainees who were abused in Iraq and Afghanistan. The ruling comes more than 10 years after the American Civil Liberties Union first sought the release of the images.
A U.S. soldier takes a look at the notoriou Abu Ghraib prison.
Manish Swarup / ASSOCIATED PRESS
The government, which has been fighting the release of the images in court for more than decade, has 60 days to decide whether to appeal the ruling by U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein.
"Accordingly, judgement is hereby entered in favor of Plaintiff. The Government is required to disclose each and all the photographs responsive to Plaintiff's FOIA request, unless it moves promptly to cure its failure to submit an individualized certification."
ACLU attorneys in their court filings referenced the abuse of detainees in Abu Ghraib, where pictures of the abuse sparked international outrage.
"Photographs and videos leaked to the press have established beyond any doubt that detainees held in Iraq have been subjected to humiliating and degrading treatment," attorneys wrote in their original complaint.
Government officials have argued that releasing the photos could incite attacks against the U.S. A law passed in 2009 would allow the images to remain secret if the secretary of defense certifies that releasing them would endanger U.S. citizens, the Associated Press reported.
But in his ruling filed on Friday, Hellerstein said the Department of Defense failed to provide specific details of the threat.