Groups Wrangle With CIA Over ‘Ghost Prisoners’

[Joanne98]

by William Fisher
NEW YORK — The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has refused to release more than 7,000 documents related to its programs of secret detentions, renditions, and torture, and is asking a federal judge to dismiss a Freedom of Information lawsuit demanding disclosure.

The refusal came last week in the CIA’s response to a lawsuit brought by three human rights groups, Amnesty International USA (AIUSA), the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the International Human Rights Clinic at New York University School of Law (NYU IHRC).

The CIA filed a motion with the court for a summary judgment to end the lawsuit and avoid turning over more than 7,000 documents related to its secret “ghost” detention and extraordinary rendition programs.

The CIA claimed that it did not have to release the documents because many consist of correspondence with the White House or top George W. Bush administration officials, or because they are between parties seeking legal advice on the programs, including guidance on the legality of certain interrogation procedures. The CIA confirmed that it requested — and received — legal advice from attorneys at the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel concerning these procedures.

The case is significant for a number of reasons. Among them, said CCR Executive Director Vincent Warren, it marks the first time the CIA “has acknowledged that it has well over 7,000 documents that relate to the torture and disappearance of men”.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/27/8557/