Gitmo Interrogation Pix & Videos Exempt From FOIA Request, NY Fed Judge Rules

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In Center for Constitutional Rights v. Department of Defense et al. (Case No. 1:12-cv-00135), United States District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald last week ruled that photographs and videos concerning interrogations at Guantanamo Bay of alleged "20th hijacker" terrorist Mohammed al-Qahtani  were exempt from having to be produced under a Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA") request by the Center for Constitutional Rights ("CCR") advocacy group.

Judge Buchwald supported the CIA, which had neither confirmed nor denied the existence of photos and videos of the questioning of al-Qahtani over a three-year period from 2002 to 2005 that CCR sought in its FOIA request. Under the Act's [5 U.S.C. sec. 552] Exemption 1, the so-called national security exemption, Judge Buchwald found the release of such material could incite an anti-American reaction and be used as a recruiting tool by America's enemies and to foment violence.

The court concluded the government had satisfied its burden of proof that it was "logical or plausible" that such an adverse occurrence could be triggered by the release of the materials requested by CCR.

Tip of the hat to the Reporter's Committee for Freedom of the Press (www.rcfp.org) for staying on top of this case.

Legal Advocacy Group Files FOIA Claim on Honduras Coup

Image via WikipediaThe Jurist Website (http://jurist.law.pitt.edu) reports today that the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), a nonprofit legal and educational organization advocating for human rights under the U.S. Constitution and Universal Declaration of Human Rights, has filed a complaint under the Freedom of Information Act [5 U.S.C. sec. 552 et seq.] against the CIA and Department of Defense to obtain documents involving the 2009 coup in Honduras in which then-President Manual Zelaya was abducted by Honduran military officers and flown out of the country to Costa Rica.

The FOIA complaint alleges that the named defendants withheld documents from the CCR concerning the coup's impact on the U.S. and its interests. The CCR has filed additional FOIA requests with the CIA and DOD on behalf of the Honduras Commission for Truth, which is probing coup-related human rights violations. Former President Zelaya and officials involved in his ouster all received immunity from Zelaya's successor.

"TUOL" expects that the mainstream news media will pick up on this story if Charlie Sheen adds Tegucigalpa as a stop in his Violent Torpedo of Death/Defeat Is Not an Option Tour.