Judge Orders Abu Ghraib Photos To Be Released To The Public.

The Associated Press is reporting that a US District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein ordered the pictures of detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib to be released by the government.

The ACLU brought the case forward suing for the release of 87 photographs and 4 videotapes taken at the prison, under the contention that the abuse at the prison was wide spread and systematic. However, the Bush administration attempted to block the release of the images of detainee abuse on the basis that it could damage the United States’ image and give fuel to potential terrorists.

In a 50 page decision, Judge Hellerstein said that the United States “does not surrender to blackmail, and fear of blackmail is not a legally sufficient argument to prevent us from performing a statutory command. Indeed, the freedoms that we champion are as important to our success in Iraq and Afghanistan as the guns and missiles with which our troops are armed.”