http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-03/03/content_10930992.htmU.S. Justice Department: CIA destroys almost 100 interrogation videos
www.chinaview.cn 2009-03-03 05:36:46
WASHINGTON, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Justice Department issued documents on Monday showing that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has destroyed almost 100 interrogation videos recorded during the former Bush administration.
"The CIA can now identify the number of videotapes that were destroyed," Acting U.S. Attorney Lev Dassin wrote in a letter dated March 2 to New York Judge Alvin Hellerstein. "Ninety-two videotapes were destroyed."
The letter was submitted at the request of the New York judge who is handling a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and seeking more details of interrogation programs under Bush's government.
"The large number of videotapes destroyed confirms that the agency engaged in a systematic attempt to hide evidence of its illegal interrogations and to evade the court's order," ACLU attorney Amrit Singh said in a statement, adding that CIA should be held accountable for holding back the information for so long.
The newly-released number was far more than the number that was previously acknowledged by CIA.
Former CIA director Michael Hayden admitted in December 2007 that several tapes were made in 2002 during interrogation of two al Qaeda suspects, and destroyed three years later due to concerns on safety of interrogators and their families.
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