CIA Withholds Key Torture Documents From ACLU

Judge Hellerstein had ordered the government to turn over the documents by August 31, following an ACLU lawsuit, or else to provide justification for continuing to withhold them.

However, in a court filing late Monday, the CIA said if will not release the documents, claiming that disclosing details about the enhanced interrogation program would harm national security.

In its filing, the CIA also argued that the information available to the public about the enhanced interrogation program should be limited to its historical context and legal underpinning.

“Giving the vast amount of evidence that the US torture program was widespread and systemic, it is disappointing that the government continues to withhold these vital documents that would fill in the remaining gaps in the public record,” said Alex Abdo from the ACLU.

Most of the revelations about the US treatment of terrorism suspects were uncovered following lawsuits from the ACLU. One of the key ACLU lawyer in the case, Amrit Singh, was interviewed yesterday by NPR’s Melissa Block. Singh said that beside the fact that 100,000 documents are now with the ACLU, the information in the public domain remains incomplete.

Amrit Singh is specifically pushing for the release of the photographs withheld by the Obama administration.

“These photographs, the government concedes, depict the abuse of prisoners. And yes, there are different from text because images convey what words possibly cannot. And the whole point of getting these photos out into the public domain is so that the best evidence of the treatment of prisoners can be aired, and the public can draw its own conclusion,” said Singh.

To read the transcript of the complete interview of ACLU’S Amrit Singh by NPR’s Mellisa Block click here.