The Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Monday that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) doesn’t have to release a photo of an alleged al-Qaida operative following a session of enhanced interrogation techniques (EIT), reports The Associated Press.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) originally sued the CIA in 2004 to uncover details of secret overseas prisons and interrogation methods. In March, the ACLU asked the Second Circuit to order the CIA to release a photo of suspected al-Qaida financier Abu Zubaydah and disclose records detailing waterboarding interrogation methods used against terrorism suspects in 2002, reports Reuters.

Monday’s ruling centers on the applicability of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Exemptions 1 and 3.

The CIA claimed that the Agency can deny a FOIA request for the waterboarding cables because waterboarding is an “intelligence method.” This even though President Obama has since declared it illegal.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the government, concluding that “the President’s declaration and prohibition of the future use of waterboarding do not affect the Government’s otherwise valid authority to withhold the records [and photograph] under Exemption 3.” The Court also concluded that the government may redact documents it discloses that are related to highly classified, active intelligence methods under FOIA Exemption 1.

Judge Richard Wesley, writing for the court, noted, “We give substantial weight to the Government’s declarations, which establish that disclosing the redacted portions of the OLC memoranda would reveal the existence and scope of a highly classified, active intelligence activity.”

We can’t picture the ACLU accepting the Second Circuit’s ruling as a final answer, so keep your eyes peeled for a Supreme Court petition.

Related Resources:

  • American
  • Civil Liberties Union v. Department of Justice (Second Circuit Court of
  • Appeals)
  • ACLU
  • Demands Waterboarding Docs, CIA Claims FOIA Request Exemption (FindLaw’s
  • Second Circuit Blog)
  • Let’s Talk About
  • Waterboarding (FindLaw)

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