Pentagon to release "100s" of detainee photos

The Pentagon is set to release "hundreds" of photographs showing alleged abuse by U.S. personnel at prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan during the Bush administration, a U.S. official said Friday.

"I think it will be in the hundreds," said the Pentagon official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, referring to the number of photos to be released for the first time.

A Defense Department spokesman confirmed the Pentagon agreed to release the photographs by May 28 in response to a long-running Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the New York-based rights group, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Abusing detainees

The photographs come from more than 60 criminal investigations from 2001-2006 of military personnel suspected of abusing detainees, the defense official said.

But the Pentagon rejected the portrayal of the photos by the ACLU as showing widespread abuse of detainees.

"What this demonstrates is that we have always been serious about investigating credible allegations of abuse," spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters.

He said the Pentagon's policy always required "humane treatment" of detainees and that those who violated that policy were interrogateed and disciplined.

What this demonstrates is that we have always been serious about investigating credible allegations of abuse

Bryan Whitman , Pentagon

As a result of Pentagon investigations of detainee abuse, more than 400 individuals were disciplined, ranging from prison sentences to demotions and letters of reprimand, he said.

However, rights groups say senior officials under former president George W. Bush's administration who were allegedly responsible for promoting harsh interrogation tactics were been held accountable.

ACLU staff attorney Amrit Singh said on Thursday "these photographs provide visual proof that prisoner abuse by U.S. personnel was not aberrational but widespread, reaching far beyond the walls of Abu Ghraib."

These photographs provide visual proof that prisoner abuse by U.S. personnel was not aberrational but widespread, reaching far beyond the walls of Abu Ghraib

Amrit Singh, ACLU

Releasing the photos

The Iraqi Abu Ghraib prison became infamous after photographs showing Iraqi detainees being humiliated and abused by their U.S. guards were published in 2004.

In addition to at least 44 photos cited in the court case, a "substantial number of other images" were also being processed for release, the Department of Justice wrote in a letter to a U.S. federal court.

Whitman suggested that the decision to release the photos was partly driven by the state of the lawsuit, in which the government's arguments against releasing the images mostly failed to sway federal judges.

"This was a mature legal proceeding," Whitman said. "It had run its course for a good bit of time."

Bush admin under fire

The former Bush administration refused to release the images to the public, arguing that the disclosure would fuel outrage and violate U.S. obligations toward detainees under the Geneva Conventions.

The Obama administration released four sensitive memos last week that blew the lid on harsh CIA terror interrogations approved by the previous government, including the use of insects, simulated drowning and sleep deprivation.

But Obama said that CIA officers involved in interrogations should not be prosecuted as they were acting on orders and legal advice.

Obama faced criticism from both ends of the political spectrum over the issue, with rights groups demanding prompt prosecution of former Bush administration officials and conservatives charging the move had endangered national security.