U.S. aims to block release of abuse photos

WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates has moved to block the release of photos of foreign detainees allegedly being abused in Iraq and Afghanistan by U.S. captors.

Gates filed a notice with the U.S. Supreme Court late Friday saying he believes an amendment to last month's military appropriations act gives him the authority to ignore a lower court ruling that would have required the photos be released to the American Civil Liberties Union, Politico reported.

President Obama originally supported releasing photos of alleged mistreatment of detainees at prisons in Afghanistan and Iraq. But he later said making the photos public would "further inflame anti-American opinion."

The amendment to the appropriations measure allows Gates to exempt the photos from the Freedom of Information Act without having to identify specific individuals who might be endangered by their release.

"The government's argument for suppression of the photos sets a dangerous precedent -- that the government can conceal evidence of its own misconduct precisely because the evidence powerfully documents gross abuses of power and of detainees," said Alex Abdo, a legal fellow with the ACLU National Security Project.