Images of dead Laden still dangerous: US lawyer
11 January, 2013
WASHINGTON: Twenty months after US special forces killed Osama bin Laden, the United States told a court on Thursday it is not ready to release images taken after the al Qaeda leader's death because they still might lead to violence. A federal appeals court heard arguments in a lawsuit over whether the government must release the images under the Freedom of Information Act, a 1966 law that guarantees public access to some government records. President Barack Obama's administration points to an exception in the law that covers documents classified in the interest of national defence. "They'll be used to inflame tensions. They'll be used to inspire retaliatory attacks," Justice Department lawyer Robert Loeb told the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The US government has 52 photographs or videos – the medium has not been revealed – from the May 2011 raid. End.
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