Judge rules in favor of holding public hearings on detainee abuse

[caligirl]

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Judge_rules_in_favor_of_holding_public_hearings_on_detainee__0816.html

Following the latest round of filings by the Department of Defense in conjunction with the State Department -which attempts to stipulate that all current and future photographs and tapes of detainee abuse be permanently sealed and, in addition, the reasons given for the motion be heavily redacted - the court ruled largely in favor of public disclosure...........

The hearing this Thursday will address whether the government has agreed to accede to the court ruling that the DOD and State declarations be unredacted, or if they tend to repeal. The hearing will be public, but any appeals with regard to the DOD/State declarations may require closed door hearings as part of the larger public hearing.

The substantive argument, over whether the photos/videos should be released was rescheduled to August 30 of this month......................

[Burried News]

1. Justice suffers a Palestinian Hanging

From the link:
"The government's recent actions make a mockery of the Freedom of Information Act,” said Romero. “The Defense Department has long dragged its heels on coming clean about the systematic and widespread abuse of detainees, but denying the public the right to even hear its legal arguments for withholding information is a new low."

On August 2, Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) issued a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales explaining the FOIA statute and the concern for the State’s attempt to interpret the law and misapply it toward government secrecy:

Unprecedented use of FOIA statute

"The FOIA exemption was designed to provide a basis for protecting the identity of confidential sources," wrote Waxman. Unprecedented use of FOIA statute.

The FOIA statute being used by the DOD to seal the abuse documents as well as the reasons for the sealing has never before been used by a government agency as a means by which to classify government misdoings."

The not so speedy Gonzales sells out again.