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In legal papers unsealed today, the ACLU urged a federal court to order the release of photographs and videos that depict the abuse and torture of prisoners in U.S. custody at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The ACLU also asked the court to reject the government's attempt to file some of its legal arguments in secret.

"The ACLU shares everyone's deep concern about the dangers facing American soldiers in Iraq and elsewhere," said ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero. "The actions depicted in these photos and videos demonstrate the failure of American leaders who placed our young men and women in compromising situations and are now seeking to blame them for it. The real shame here is that our leaders left our troops out on a limb and now they are hiding behind a veil of rank and government office to avoid accountability."

Romero noted that until the first photos of detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib were made public in April 2004, the government had consistently denied that any wrongdoing had taken place despite news reports to the contrary. Since then, the ACLU has obtained through a court order more than 60,000 pages of government documents regarding torture and abuse of detainees.

Despite this evidence, the government continues to minimize the extent of the torture and to describe it as the action of a few rogue soldiers. In response, the ACLU has called for an independent counsel with subpoena power to investigate the torture scandal, including the role of senior policymakers, and has filed a separate lawsuit to hold Secretary Rumsfeld and high-ranking military officers accountable.

In a court declaration that was also unsealed today, former U.S. Army Colonel Michael E. Pheneger, a retired military intelligence expert, responded to the government's "cause-and-effect" argument that release of the images would spark violence abroad. "Our enemies seek to prevent the United States from achieving its objectives in the Middle East," he said. "They do not need specific provocations to justify their actions." Noting that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard B. Myers, has estimated that insurgents average 70 attacks a day, Col. Pheneger added: "The attacks will continue regardless of whether the photos and tapes are released."  {mosgoogle right}


The case arose from a lawsuit filed under the Freedom of Information Act 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 in the case.

Only a truly independent counsel, operating with full subpoena powers, can uncover the truth about what torture tactics have been employed by the U.S. government in the past and what tactics will be used in the future. Please write your representative today and insist that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales appoint an independent counsel to investigate torture abuses and secure the release of relevant documents.

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