US court orders release of prisoner abuse photographs

New York : A federal appeals court on Monday ordered the release of 21 photographs it said depicted prisoner abuse by US soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq, which rights groups say prove abuse was widespread.

The pictures, which have never been made public and are part of US Army investigative files, were first ordered released, with redaction, in 2006 by US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein after he reviewed them and ruled they were of critical public interest.

Their release was held up while the US Department of Defence appealed, arguing the release would endanger US soldiers and result in an unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the detainees they depict.

The Second US Circuit Court of Appeals has turned aside those objections.

The 21 pictures were taken at multiple locations by individuals serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the photographs, the detainees "were clothed and generally not forced to pose", the ruling said.

"The photographs depict abusive treatment of detainees by US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan," the ruling said.

The order to release the images is part of a Freedom of Information Act suit filed in 2003 by civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The ACLU, who originally requested the release of 29 photos, of which Hellerstein ruled 21 related to detainee abuse, said the release could deter future abuse.

"These photographs demonstrate that the abuse of prisoners held in US custody abroad was not aberrational and not confined to Abu Ghraib," ACLU attorney Amrit Singh said.